“No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” (John Donne, Devotion XVII) We have lost the sense of community that once existed. About the same time that John Donne wasContinue reading “16 Pentecost 2021”
Tag Archives: Jesus
15 Pentecost 2021
This morning we heard two healing stories about Jesus. Both of them a little controversial and open to multiple interpretations. I would like to back up a little bit and start with a short geography lesson and a recap of what we have heard in the last few weeks to get a better feel forContinue reading “15 Pentecost 2021”
14 Pentecost 2021
“The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates as quoted by Plato in the Apology. Both our reading from the Gospel of Mark and our reading from James’ Letter call us to examine our lives. What is our purpose? What are we trying to accomplish? Are the things we are doing helping or hurting whatContinue reading “14 Pentecost 2021”
9 Pentecost 2021
For those of you that have been with us for the last few weeks, I have been preaching out of Mark chapter 6. You may also remember I mentioned last week that we skipped a section of Mark 6 to come back to at a later date, the story of the feeding of the 500Continue reading “9 Pentecost 2021”
8 Pentecost 2021
Between Mark and our lectionary we have gotten the 6th chapter in what probably feels like a random selection. Especially today when we have a bit from the middle and a bit from the end of the chapter, so let me give you a brief overview of this chapter. We began three weeks ago withContinue reading “8 Pentecost 2021”
6 Pentecost 2021
For the last several weeks, Mark has been demonstrating for us the authority and power Jesus possesses and Paul, in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, has been defending his authority and power delegated to him through Jesus. This can begin to sound like just so much office politics. Why do we care? What makesContinue reading “6 Pentecost 2021”
4 Pentecost 2021
Fear is one of those English words that has a broad range of meanings, especially when it comes to translating the Hebrew and Greek scriptures into English. But perhaps that is not entirely the fault of the English. It appears the Hebrews and the Greeks used their words rather broadly as well. It can meanContinue reading “4 Pentecost 2021”
3 Pentecost 2021
There is no greater act of faith than to make your living off the land, farming, ranching, fishing, etc. For most of humanity’s existence this is how we lived, first as hunter gatherers, then by planting and raising livestock or going out to sea to fish. Only gradually, as we became more efficient at producingContinue reading “3 Pentecost 2021”
2 Pentecost 2021
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:1 &2) This is the first commandant given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. It is easy forContinue reading “2 Pentecost 2021”
Trinity Sunday 2021
What does God look like to you? In our Old Testament reading this morning, Isaiah is in the temple of Jerusalem where he has a vision of the veil between heaven and earth opening up and immediately above the temple sits the throne of God. This was a common belief at this time that heavenContinue reading “Trinity Sunday 2021”
The Rev. Beverly Patterson 