[This post is adapted from a sermon on Matthew 28:1-10] A rather interesting discussion emerged on my Facebook page this week about Easter sermons. Many were lamenting how difficult they are; a couple were suggesting that there is no need to even preach on Easter–that the story speaks for itself. And then my college chaplain…
From Romans 8: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through God who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither…
*In the midst of Holy Week stress and missing my dad, I found this post from a few years back. I thought others (especially pastors) might also need to be re-reminded of this truth on this Maundy Thursday. So I’ve edited it just a bit and re-posted. – – – – I love to plan…
Carrying Friday’s stale grief, we come to see the tomb. We come to mourn on solid ground, and instead find the earth shifting beneath our feet. We expect bloody grave clothes, and instead see the gleaming white robe of the angel. The angel who says, “I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.…
This reflection is excerpted from a sermon on Mark 11:1-11. As you prepare for Palm Sunday, you might also appreciate this prayer of confession and offertory prayer. For more Lent and Easter worship material, check the “Lent/Easter” category on the right side bar or go to the Index and scroll down to “The Year” section.…
This is an excerpt of the sermon I preached on John 19:31-37 this past Sunday, April 6, 2014. It is a complex topic and I commend to you the sermon in its entirety. – – – – – – I attended a discussion this past week with Mennonite theologian J. Denny Weaver. He has written…
Matthew 27: 33-54 [This post is excerpted from a sermon. The full sermon text is available here.] We began Lent with the story of Jesus in the wilderness. He is fresh off the spiritual high of his baptism where the voice proclaimed from the clouds, “This is my son, whom I love. With him I…
Mark 14:53-65; 15:1 [This reflection is excerpted from a sermon. The full sermon text is posted here.] In his massive two-volume work, The Death of the Messiah, Raymond Brown gives an overview of the scholarship on the Passion Narratives in the Gospels. It quickly becomes clear that there is a wide range of opinion…
[This column is from 2014 (back when I was a Young Clergy Woman instead of a Young Clergy Woman Alumna) and was originally posted on the Rev. Gal Blog Pals site.] A week ago, many of us participated in a holy ritual–Ash Wednesday. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Drawing the…
–John 13:1-17 Rev. Dr. Alyce McKenzie, professor of preaching and worship at Perkins School of Theology, was sitting in the waiting area of her local discount tire store. She was reading a magazine when a pamphlet appeared in front of her face: “How to be born again.” “Have you been born again?” The earnest 40-something…
Spacious Faith 