The Suffering Servant, Isaiah 50:4-9, Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020 ************************************************************************* Palm Sunday marks the beginning of this, the holiest of weeks of the Church Year. Palm Sunday really has a dual focus. On the one hand, it is a day of joy and gladness, as we mingle our “hosannas” with those crowds who first welcomed […]
Preaching to Dry Bones, Ezekiel 37:1–14, Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 29, 2020 ************************************************************************* The Lenten cycle is drawing to a close. This is the last numbered Sunday in Lent; next Sunday begins Palm Sunday and Holy Week. In our Old Testament text today, God shows the prophet Ezekiel a vision that is quite dramatic and […]
Dark Passages to Marvelous Light, Isaiah 42:14–21, Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 22, 2020 ************************************************************************* A man was driving through a mining region one bright and sunny Sunday afternoon when he noticed a large number of mules in an open field. When he inquired about this unusual sight, he was told that the work animals had […]
He Will Be Your God and You Will Be His People, Exodus 17:1–7, Third Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2020 ************************************************************************* Once upon a time, there was a Sunday morning worship service, in a south Mississippi costal community. The service had begun and most everyone was in their assigned seat ready to hear the proclamation of […]
Father Abraham, Genesis 12:1–9, Second Sunday in Lent, March 8, 2020 ************************************************************************* Believe it or not, it is already the Second Sunday in Lent. The season of Lent returns us to the very basics of Christianity. Last week we remembered the fall into sin and the victory of Christ over the ancient serpent, crushing his head […]
Don’t Do It Eve, Don’t Listen to Him, Genesis 3:1–21, First Sunday in Lent, March 1, 2020 ************************************************************************* Have you ever screamed at the screen or an actor during a horror film? “Don’t do it, don’t go in there, there is a bad guy behind the door!” And sure enough, even though you tried to warn […]
Etiquette for Dining with God, Exodus 24:8-18, The Transfiguration of Our Lord, February 23, 2020 ************************************************************************* At first I was a little skeptical when the seminary offered a free etiquette class. Yet upon further reflection and discovering that a free meal was included, I reconsidered. Ellen and I put on our best duds, uh I mean, […]
Grumbling Grumbler, Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 16, 2020 ************************************************************************* The story is told about a wife of a hard-to-please husband who was determined to try her best to satisfy him for just one day. “Darling,” she asked, “what would you like for breakfast this morning?” He growled, “Coffee and toast, grits and […]
God’s DNA in You, Isaiah 58:3-9a, Matthew 5:13-20, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Seminary Sunday), February 9, 2020 *********************************************************** In recent years, DNA testing has become an important part of our culture. In 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick became the first scientists to formulate an accurate description of the DNA molecule’s complex structure. On June […]
Forty Days, Genesis 7:1-4, 12, Exodus 24:15-18, Numbers 13:1-3, 25, 1 Samuel 17:4-9, 16, 1 Kings 19:1-6, 8, Matthew 4:1-2, Luke 2:22–32 Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord), February 2, 2020 *********************************************************************** For the Church, today is not Groundhog Day or Super Bowl Sunday. Today is a key turning point in our […]