Sermons

According to the Revised Common Lectionary, November is always the end of the world. Lectionarily speaking (if that’s a word), the final punctuation point is Reign of Christ, the last Sunday before Advent, a geeky celebration of doctrine that asserts all of creation is moving toward the culmination of God’s plan. This movement toward theocracy … read

You might have been puzzled by the connection between the children’s time today and the scripture reading. Maybe you noticed its connection to the jazz group’s anthem. But catchy tune aside, what do Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have to do with the scripture Gregg and I read–? Here’s what happened. When the quartet proposed the … read

Have I ever told you about my great-great grandmother, Halldora? She was a midwife who immigrated from Iceland with her husband and two sons at the end of the 19th century. We don’t know how many babies she delivered in Iceland, but the newspaper in Duluth, where she ran a maternity hospital, said that she … read

If you are of a certain age, you might remember Janis Joplin singing the line I’ve used as today’s sermon title: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” We are celebrating this nation’s 250th birthday this 4th of July weekend, and while that sermon title might suggest patriotism, the story definitely does not. … read