Sermons

Sermons

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

REASON FOR REJOICING Tell me: what kind the things bring you joy? What makes you happy? (Did I hear someone say “beer/wine/bourbon”?) Do any of you enjoy dinner parties? If so, I wonder if you would enjoy the dinner party described in today’s gospel. Pastor Barbara Brown Taylor described what a modern-day version of that party might look like. She writes: “It might…

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Good Shepherd Sermon. August 30/31, 2025.  Luke 14: 1, 7-14                                    “Table Wisdom”     Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, the Creator, our Lord, and…

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Good Shepherd sermon.  August 23/24, 2025  Luke 13. 10-17 “Our Liberating Lord”     Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.    There is a book of Jewish tradition from the late second century, called the Mishnah, where there is a list of…

Tenth Sunday After Pentecost

Good Shepherd sermon.  August 17, 2025.  Luke 12. 49-56 “Forecasting the Truth?  Never”     Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, the Creator, our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.     W-a-y back in the mid 1970’s, I was working at WGN Radio and TV, in Chicago; my first job out…

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Good Shepherd sermon.  August 9 / 10, 2025.  Luke 12. 32-40 “Being Prepared”     Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.     So…what is the message Jesus is sharing with his disciples then, and us today?  Allow me to share two of…

Eighth Sermon after Pentecost

Good Shepherd sermon.  August 3, 2025.  Luke 12. 13-21. “Building Bridges or Barriers?”     Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen     I remember hearing a story of a grandfather talking with his grandson about what he did for a living – he was a…