Well, it happened again. I had a lovely thought for my sermon that I just cannot justify putting in my sermon. It really has nothing to do with anything else I’m talking about. Plus, I’m already pushing 20 minutes which, for me, is a long sermon. So, because I cannot bear to delete it, here…
I have experienced a glorious week of hearing the Gospel, singing to God, and talking with other preachers at the Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta. (My husband endured a long week of schedule juggling, meal preparing, and dish washing at home with our three kids—which is why I will not have another glorious Festival experience…
I’ve posted a new page with today’s sermon on John 12: 20-33. It includes the words “sex” and “hell”–if that’s an incentive to read it (or not). 🙂
I have posted the sermon I preached last year on Matthew 16:21-28, which is a parallel passage to this week’s Gospel reading in Mark 8:27-38. (This poor little post has been languishing in my draft folder all week. Oops.)
(Here is the reflection I shared during worship on New Year’s Day, 2012 ) Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14a It’s probably not surprising that I’ve been thinking about gifts this holiday season. Of course, I’ve been considering what gifts to give others and I’ve been enjoying the gifts others have given me. And as one year ends…
The following reflection on Luke’s story of the annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) is adapted from a sermon I preached on December 13, 2009. You might have noticed by now that the writer of Luke gives us a lot of detail here in the first chapter. We know who was king. We know what priestly division Zechariah…
A sermon on Luke 14:15-24 (adapted from a sermon preached in 2007)Joanna Harader We have listened this morning to a familiar parable, often called the parable of the great banquet. The traditional interpretation of this parable is pretty straight forward. God is the host. God is always the host, or the landowner, or whoever has…
To go along with the prayer of confession below, here is my confession to you: Sometimes I am lazy in planning ahead for worship. I will say to the Worship Committee, “Oh, I’ll just preach lectionary that week. Let’s go with the Gospel reading.” So a Gospel reading, say Matthew 15: 21-28, gets put on…
Since my “pre-sermon ponderings” ended on an ambiguous–yet hopeful–note, I thought some folks might like to see the finished sermon manuscript. The manuscript, of course, is not the sermon. It is what I intended to say. And it is pretty close, I think, to what I actually said. And I can hope that it’s somewhat…
If you are following the Revised Common Lectionary, the Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. This passage consists of five brief parables that all begin with, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”. That’s right, five parables. So as I look toward preaching this Sunday, my first consideration is…
Spacious Faith 