Episode

Exodus 14: 19-31, Psalm 114 If you spent any time at all in Sunday School you probably know a song that posed the question, “How did Moses cross the Red Sea?” There’s a lot going for this song. It does that great thing for engaging an audience, especially a younger Read more…

 Reading               Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)   Background During most of the last 3 months we followed the O.T. lectionary readings in Genesis. We have looked at key events in the lives of 4 generations – Abraham and Sarah; their son Isaac and his wife Rebekah; then Jacob (or Israel to Read more…

 Exodus 1:8-22, Romans 12:1-8 Sometimes, writes poet Godfrey Rust, words are not enough for everything we have to say. Words can’t beat like a heart. A verb won’t sweat or bleed. A noun doesn’t get thirsty. An adjective cannot feel pain. Something gets lost in translation into words. So when Read more…

Reading               Genesis 45:1-15 (NRSV)   Introduction The church office had an answering machine to take messages when the office was unattended. It instructed callers to leave their name and address, and to spell any difficult words. Early one Monday, when the Office Manager was reviewing the weekend messages, she heard Read more…

Dream us forward – Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Miriam and I have recently discovered that Google (or whatever search engine you use) has pretty much replaced Joseph and his famous ability to interpret dreams. The other morning, over breakfast, Miz told me she’d had a dream she was being chased by Read more…

People plus God – Matthew 14:13-21 I am starting the sermon this morning, following John’s lead last week, with a quick poll on the question – how many times do the gospels speak of Jesus feeding the multitudes? (While that poll question is appearing on your screens – for those Read more…

  The Kingdom of Heaven is like… Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (NRSV) Introduction Today’s Bible passage includes 5 parables which all begin with “The kingdom of heaven is like…” The kingdom of heaven is Matthew’s term for what the other Gospel writers term the kingdom of God. The terms are synonymous. Read more…

Surely God is in this place – Genesis 28:10-19a, Psalm 134:1-12,23-24   By any measure, here in our Genesis passage, Jacob is not in a good place. He has taken his brother’s birthright, those firstborn’s rights that Jeanette spoke about last week, and, in Genesis 27, his brother’s blessing (the Read more…