Sermons on “Matthew”

#Ten Commandments

Epiphany 6 – Hope and Memory – February 16, 2020

Hope and Memory

I always call Psalm 119, our psalm today, the Lawyers’ Psalm.  We sang a few verses of it this morning — that’s 8 out of a total of 176, by the way.  It’s the longest psalm we have, and the longest whole chapter in the Bible.  No laughing about long-winded lawyers out there!

The reason I call it the Lawyers’ Psalm is that the language is focused on decrees, commandments, statutes, and judgments.  The psalmist uses 8 DIFFERENT words for laws and even exclaims every 10 verses or so, Oh, how I love your law!  It is my meditation all day long.  I feel that way myself — I know it sounds pretty nerdy, but …

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#Magi, #WiseMen, #Star

Epiphany 3 – Look for the Light – January 26, 2020

Let There Be Light#Star

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness– on them light has shined.

“Let there be light.” God’s first action in creation is calling light into being.    In holy scripture, light is the sign of God’s presence.

Light is a recurring image in the readings of the Epiphany season.   The stories celebrate God’s eternal action and presence, God’s continual breaking into history to transform the world through the lives of ordinary people.

These tales help us see how God breaks into our lives, claiming us as beloved children and inviting us more fully into the life of faith.

The life of faith calls us …

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#BaptismJesus

Epiphany 1 – God Untamed – January 12, 2020

 God Untamed

#Magi, #WiseMen            Today we celebrate two beginnings in our church year:  the First Sunday after Epiphany, and the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.  Epiphany is at the beginning of Jesus’ life, when the Magi arrive in Bethlehem to worship the new baby king.  And the Baptism of Our Lord is at the beginning of Jesus’ approximately three-year earthly ministry.

Both events challenge our assumptions and understandings about power and authority — and strength and weakness — and love and safety.

The Magi — mysterious VIPs from the East — leave Herod’s court in Jerusalem to follow the star to the manger side in Bethlehem to worship a baby, born King of the Jews, they …

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Swing into Spring with the Larry Brown Swinglane Orchestra - Pentecost Sunday - May 19th, 2024 - 7:30 - 10:00 pm - Tickets $25