Sermons on Teaching of Jesus (Page 5)

Turning Points

While Jesus was not received in the Samaritan village as James and John had expected them to be Jesus responded with calm and non-violence.

Recognizing God

Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus until he spoke to her. We often miss God because we expect God’s voice to be bigger or more cosmic, yet if God is as close as our breath then God’s voice may be as quiet as our breath. The amazing thing about the resurrection is how it shows us God’s unquenchable, astonishing love. Let us decide to live every day in the full knowledge of that love.

Good Friday Sermon

Christ crucified is a manifestation of God’s unquenchable and unfathomable love for humanity. Why exactly the Christ dove into the heart of human darkness we cannot say with any certainty except that God used it to turn our darkness into the light of the resurrection.

Reconciled with God

The Prodigal Son is a wonderful story of the soul’s return to God, and it may also be seen as a story of how Jesus Christ, both human and God, in being reconciled to God, also reconciles human and divine. And as the ones who live into that reconciliation, how we live, think and pray changes the world.

Life as a spiral

Many of us experience life as a spiral either down into more difficulty or up as we get closer to God. Sometimes in that process it seems that evil prevails – as it does right now in Ukraine – but Jesus went toe-to-toe with evil and came up as the risen, resurrected Christ. So we know that nothing, even death, can separate us from the love of God.

Jesus v. the Empire

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14Psalm 93Revelation 1:4b-8John 18:33-37 In the year 312, the Roman emperor had a dream. The night before the battle of Milvian Bridge which is in northern Italy, according to the 4th century historian, Lanctancius, the emperor Constantine “was advised in a dream to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers and then engage in battle. He did as he was commanded and by means of a letter X turned sideways, with the top…

The New Story

Daniel 12:1-3Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25Mark 13:1-8 I have always been puzzled by the disciple in today’s gospel reading. What’s the big deal? Hasn’t he seen the temple before? Is he admiring the architecture like a tourist might? Or is he just wanting Jesus’ attention and doesn’t know what to say – “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Or could it be that he (note that I am assuming it was a man) was still thinking that Jesus…