Bishop Andy Doyle: Let Galilee Quake With Good News - Easter
The earth quaked at the resurrection of Jesus, says Bishop Andy Doyle in his Easter sermon, and this quaking inaugurates the great re-beginning of the world and all therein. The messenger tells the women to go to Galilee—an image, an icon, for the world, the place where real people live, the place where people met God, and God met the people in the person of Jesus.
Susan Sparks: The Only Train in the Storm
In her Palm/Passion Sunday sermon, the Rev. Susan Sparks says during the week that went from glorious to tragic, Jesus did not expect the world to save him--because he knew God would. We often get both parts of that equation wrong.
Frank C. Spencer: Prophesy!
In his sermon for the 5th Sunday in Lent, the Rev. Frank Spencer says God simply commands Ezekiel, “Prophesy!” It’s not so much an answer as an invitation to participate in whatever God is doing in the world--and that invitation is ours as well.
Mandy Sloan McDow: One Thing I Do Know
“One thing I do know: though I was blind, now I see.” In her sermon for the 4th Sunday in Lent, the Rev. Mandy Sloan McDow says this is perhaps the simplest confession in all of the gospels—and it resonates in this era wracked with uncertainty, mistrust, and unwieldy imbalances of power.
Mandy Sloan McDow: I Drank My Fill on the Rock
The Rev. Mandy Sloan McDow says the woman at the well was hard edged, used up, just going through the motions. But Jesus tells her, in essence, "you are beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy.” And her life was transformed.
Anna Carter Florence: Nicodemus
In her sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, Dr. Anna Carter Florence says Nicodemus’s generous act at Jesus’s death was extravagant, but also too much too late. We’re left wondering what might have been if he had acted on his first conversation with Jesus--if he’d not only recognized the light coming into the world, but followed it wholeheartedly and even shared it with others.
Katie Kime: Know It All?
In her sermon for the 1st Sunday in Lent, Dr. Katie Givens Kime says the truth is that God is always trying to give us good things, an entire garden of good things, but so often our hands are too full to receive them. And if our hands are full, they are full of the things to which we are attached or even addicted
Tova Sido: Borrowed Courage
Tova Sido says the transfiguration must have been an awesome opportunity for Peter, James, and John—yet even though they knew Jesus, they were afraid. The humanness the disciples show can be encouraging to us.
Wesley Allen: Hey! Who's On Trial Here?
Dr. O. Wesley Allen Jr. unpacks the well-known verses in Micah 6, in which the prophet calls us not just to do justice, but to "make justice happen." God requires much more than decency and kindness--we must do more, be more, become more to fulfill this calling.
Stephen Cook: Be What You Are
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Cook says Jesus called his followers "salt and light"—and he says it in the present tense. That includes us. Jesus is not calling them to become salt and light--it’s true right now.
Wesley Spears-Newsome: Better Is One Day
In his sermon on Psalm 84, the Rev. Wesley Spears-Newsome encourages us to accept God's invitation to rest--an opportunity to mend our tattered lives, and a reminder of the world to come--a world of joy, holiness, and rest.
Micah Jackson: A Fisherman for Jesus
Dr. Micah Jackson says when Jesus called Simon and Andrew, he calls them not to abandon all they know as fishermen, but to put what they know to the service of the gospel, to catch people. It's the same kind of calling Jesus offers us, an invitation to a more fulfilled life where our gifts are used in all the ways God intended.
Kevin Strickland: Come and See What Found Me!
Bishop Kevin Strickland says Epiphany is about the revelation of Jesus, about finding Jesus, witnessing Jesus in various epiphanic moments—it’s not supposed to be about being found ourselves. Or is it?
Olu Brown: Jesus' Baptism--Hope for the World
As he explores the Baptism of the Lord, the Rev. Olu Brown says baptism looks back with gratitude on what God’s grace has already accomplished, is here and now an act of God’s grace, and looks forward to what God’s grace will accomplish in the future.
Barbara Brown Taylor: Divine Evolution
Barbara Brown Taylor explores the meaning of the Logos of John 1 and Lady Wisdom of Sirach 24, who reveal God's eternal invitation to direct access to the fierce love and creative intelligence that is always looking for a new place to call home.
Jenny McDevitt: That Other Christmas Story
The Rev. Jenny McDevitt explores that other Christmas story, one that also begins in the dark--but the darkness only grows deeper as Mary and Joseph escape to Egypt with their baby--a scenario that might sound familiar today.
Eric Shafer: Really With Us
Matthew tells a Christmas story from the point of view of Joseph, and unlike Luke with the singing angels and worshiping shepherds, we hear a story not of wonder but of heartache. The Rev. Eric Shafer tells us the months leading up to Jesus’s birth were fraught with anxiety, concern, and emotion for Joseph and Mary. And that is a purpose of Matthew’s telling this story—because we have all been there.
Bishop Brian Cole: The Gift of Doubt
Bishop Brian Cole reminds us that Mary, Jesus’s mother, and John the Baptist were real people. John has been preparing the way, making room for the Messiah, and it seems in Matthew 11 that he’s become concerned his work may be in vain—he is experiencing doubt because Jesus is not meeting his expectations for the Messiah. His doubt can be instructive for us...
Bishop Nicholas Knisely: Lighten Our Darkness, Lord Jesus
Bishop Nicholas Knisely says the tension between the Isaiah and Matthew texts for Advent 2 is palpable—Isaiah speaks of new life, healing, and restoration. But in Matthew, John the Baptist boldly calls the people to repent—which really doesn’t fit our cultural experience of this season.
Charles Qualls: Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord!
Dr. Charles Qualls says the vision Isaiah paints in chapter 2 is one of peace—a world we would surely like to live in. But in this era of mass shootings and the threat of war, these words don’t match our reality, and so we yearn to know: when will the Christ child hurry up and usher in such a peaceful time? And we wait...