Sermons

Lent 5 – Dry Bones Come Alive – March 29, 2020

Lent 4 – That God’s Works Might Be Revealed in Us – March 22, 2020

March 22, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells John

So That God’s Works Might Be Revealed in Us

My friends, we are walking gingerly through some strange times now. And it’s happening fast — our understanding changes every day, with new closures, new safety measures, and new counts of those suffering from COVID19. Our lives have changed quickly. How many of us could have predicted on Shrove Tuesday — the day before we began our Lenten season — that we would be saying Morning Prayer together by Facebook Live today?

While we began investigating plans to stream worship about a month ago, it was only a backup plan — to be sure we had thought through the possibilities of quarantine or self-isolation. And it was only last week, on …

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Lent 3 – Finding Jesus – March 15, 2020

March 15, 2020 Roger Bullard Lent John

Finding Jesus

Each time I return to RI, a flood of memories comes over me. As a youngster I remember summer weekends in Weekapaug. As a navy flyer I served the better part of four years at Quonset Point. I have fond memories of girls loved and lost in Newport, the last ferry back to Jamestown on Saturday night, lobster rolls, fishing off Point Judith.

What I remember most is water. Water is everywhere. Most days, it is beautiful. Some days, in times of low cloud and Nor’easters, the surface of Narragansett Bay turns dark, threatening, with whitecaps. Some of you this morning carry living memories of the devastation of September, 1938. Water is everywhere. In Rhode Island you are …

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Lent 2 – Nick at Night – March 8, 2020

March 8, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells Lent John

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Lent 1 – Leading into Temptation – March 1, 2020

March 1, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells Lent Matthew

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Ash Wednesday – Ashes for Growth – February 26, 2020

February 26, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells Lent Matthew

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Last Sunday After the Epiphany – Bright Clouds of Glory – February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells Epiphany Matthew

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Epiphany 6 – Hope and Memory – February 16, 2020

February 16, 2020 The Rev. Della Wager Wells Epiphany Matthew

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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