by Shelly | Jul 20, 2024 | Sermons
Caring for the caregivers Mark’s gospel makes clear how great is the press of the crowd, with its countless needs to be met, on Jesus and his disciples. Yet in today’s gospel Jesus advises his disciples to get away and rest, to take care of themselves. Sometimes we...
by Shelly | Jul 10, 2024 | Sermons
Sharing Jesus message with trust in the Spirit When Amos reports his vision of God judging Israel for its mistreatment of the poor, he becomes a threat to the power of the priests and the king. John the Baptist also speaks truth to power, and Herod has him killed. In...
by Shelly | Jul 5, 2024 | Sermons
Sharing Jesus message with trust in the Spirit Jesus does great deeds of power and gives his disciples authority over demons. Yet none of this power is unilateral; it all must be received by faith. Jesus asks his disciples to go out without money or supplies, so that...
by Shelly | Jun 28, 2024 | Sermons
Jesus commends faith in healing A woman finds healing by touching Jesus’ cloak, and a girl is restored to life when he takes her by the hand. In both cases a boundary is crossed: in Jesus’ time the hemorrhaging woman was considered ritually unclean, polluting others...
by Shelly | Jun 19, 2024 | Sermons
Trust in Christ’s power to calm storms Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation! Now we are in the storm, the boat almost swamped; but Jesus is here now, and when we call him, he will calm the storm. Even the wind and waves listen to him as they...
by Shelly | Jun 13, 2024 | Sermons
God nourishes the smallest seed to become a mighty shelter The mustard seed becomes a great shrub that shelters the birds, recalling ancient images of the tree of life. We’d expect a cedar or a sequoia, but Jesus finds the power of God better imaged in a tiny,...
