Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends! How are you doing this first Sunday in Lent? This time I ask this not as a nice segue way into my sermon – be nice to the people Ruth Anne so they’ll want to listen—but because in my experience, in the average Christian year, we seem to really
It’s Okay to Feel What You Feel
Introducing the Gospel of Mark: 5 Minutes at a Time
I think my attention span has atrophied during the pandemic, or maybe I’m just distracted by all the craziness in the world, or maybe my mind is just wearing out, but irrespective of cause, the reality is that bite-size information input is sometimes just better. And so, for those of you like me, I am
Authority and Liberation
Good morning. We have a short piece of scripture today that revolves around the word authority, and so, with the authority vested with me, that is the word that I am going to preach about today. Let’s begin by reviewing where we are: Jesus is in Galilee. He has just begun choosing his disciples. There
Forthtellers of the Gospel
Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends: How are you doing? Where do you land on a scale from one to five? I know we were all looking forward to this New Year and the vaccine that it promised and promises us but so far, as a parishioner recently wrote me, this new year hasn’t necessarily
Where the Wild Things Are
Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends: Welcome. It is well that you have come. And we are made better, more whole, with you here as a unique and important part of the body of Christ. Now the phrases above are a little like a definition of or even a little of the etymology of the
Our Collective Calling in Jesus
I am Kelli Martin, and I have been a parishioner at Epiphany for over 2 years. A group of us at Epiphany were talking recently about today’s Scripture: we talked about how a child getting lost during the time of Jesus’ childhood would not have been alarming at first. Parents wouldn’t go from 0-100 in
Rules and Regulations
Today’s reading from Galatians got me started thinking about rules and regulations. Paul is talking about the Mosaic laws, the covenant between God and God’s people. My thoughts, however, went immediately to the law in another sense, to the framework of secular rules and regulations in which we currently live our lives. In particular, how
Let it Be
Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends! One of the things I most appreciate about our God is that God, my creator, really loves the real “me.” God is a down-to-earth, lover of all humanity and creation kind of God, who, even though I have spent years trying to live up to my idea of what
Seeing Yourself Being Seen; Gratitude Unveiled
I was at a Commission on Ministry retreat last week, and there I heard a most interesting sermon from Karen Haig, Rector at St. Barnabas Church, on this text, and her words and bell ringing have formed this sermon in my mind. She said: “This is not a Gospel message about gratitude, primarily, but more