Sermon for 6-16-13Text: Luke 7:36-50One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him …
Author: Jennifer
Ocean-side Faith
A couple of weeks ago I spent some time in the magical little town of North Wildwood, NJ. Granted, I may love the town because I spent my time there with dear friends I haven’t seen in person in three years. We spent our time together talking (and talking and talking), reading for hours at …
A Revelation Sermon
Sermon for 5-12-13Text: Revelation 21:1-6Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who is, who was and who is to come. Amen.The rapture seems to be everywhere these days. Every time we turn around we hear of another group trying to pinpoint the day of Jesus’ return. Last fall we watched …
Prayers for Boston
What a world we live in. So many of us suffer from tragedy fatigue--for me, it manifests as a slow realization to the extent of the suffering in Boston. It's been hard for me to absorb what's happened. This afternoon I noticed a flag flying half-staff at the house across the street from the church …
Goodbye, Mr. Ebert
I remember Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbooks sitting on the bottom shelf of an end table in my grandma's basement. I leafed through them, amazed this man had seen and reviewed what seemed like countless movies every year--and giggled every time I came across a turkey symbol next to a hated film. Siskel and Ebert felt …
2013 Easter Sermon
Sermon for Easter Sunday, 3-31-13Text: Luke 24:1-12Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!Kevin Kling is a wonderful local storyteller. I recently heard him talk about a serious motorcycle accident he was in 10 years ago. The accident left him with a paralyzed right arm and required surgery to reconstruct his face. A man …
Good Enough
I’ve been intrigued by buzz around Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In. I haven’t read the book (yet), but the conversations about it have been fascinating. I agree with the idea that in order to survive—even thrive—in life, we have to make choices about where we spend our energy. I also think it applies to men …
Ashes
Last night I forgot the oil to mix with the ashes. For some reason, we pastors never think to get the ashes until the last minute (or maybe that’s just me). Every Ash Wednesday I feel like I step over a threshold and begin the steep drop to Easter. Maybe I try to hold off …
Sermon for February 3, 2013
Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Luke 4:21-30The Word of the Lord came to me.I thought…It would build me up, but it broke me in half.I was too young to hear it, but it claimed to create me from the beginning.When Jeremiah hears God calling him, he claims he doesn’t know how to speak because he’s only a …
Spiritual But Not Religious
Lillian Daniel is senior pastor of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She published an explosive article over a year ago that’s still reverberating throughout mainline Protestant conversations. It’s titled “Spiritual But Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me.” I also found this recent interview of Rev. Daniel very helpful. I’ve …
Narrating Grace 