Sermons

Job felt abandoned by God. Imagine how that is like a victim of domestic violence. Jesus' followers were after power. Imagine how that is like a perpetrator of domestic violence. So how can followers of Jesus provide safety and change the culture around family violence? Texts - Selections from the Book of Job and Mark 10: 35-45 We’re going to start this morning with one minute of some pretty tough comments from women who have experienced domestic violence. These women are from the Baraboo area and Hope House of South Central Wisconsin has worked with them to turn them from victims in...
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  Sara Miles story offers a glimpse of the power of what can happen we we share bread and wine. Today's texts - Psalm 26 and John 6: 24-35 It was a winter morning when Sara Miles went out for a walk. Taking a walk was nothing unusual for her. Walking past St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, a wooden building with shingled steeples and plain windows, was nothing new. She had passed it before. But on this day, she randomly decided to go inside to see what they did in there. “I had no earthly reason to be there,” she would write later. “I’d never heard ...
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Prayer - it's a central element of many religious traditions. So as followers of Jesus, how do we approach prayer? Think about it as communal, connecting and contemplative. Today's texts - James 5: 13-20 and Mark 9: 38-50 Those of you who had a chance to see some of the many stops Pope Francis has made during his visit to the United States may have noticed a recurring line he spoke, both in public and in more private settings. “Please, pray for me,” he said over and over. He said it to Speaker of the House John Boehner as he grasped his arm inside the Capitol building. He said ...
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A letter from Jesus' brother, a powerful image from Jesus and the story of an effort to help some of the most vulnerable in Madison - they all weave together into stories of service. Today's text - James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a and Mark 9:30-37 Almost 20 years ago, I was cleaning out some things at my mom’s house in Marinette, up in the northeast corner of Wisconsin. She had moved into an assisted living apartment as her age caught up to her. My job was to sort out things in the house we had lived in for the past half century. As I gathered things on the shelves in the closet in her bedr...
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Texts for today - Psalm 19; Mark 8: 27-38 I’d like to invite you this morning to come along with me to an obscure place that marked the northern-most point in Jesus’ journey through the countryside of ancient Israel. And then I’d like to invite you to consider the question that Jesus posed to his closest followers and the challenge that he laid out for them. Here’s an early warning. I’m going to ask you to do more than consider that question from Jesus – “who do you say that I am?” I’m going to ask you to offer some answers. So think about what you might say. But first, the jou...
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The “preferential option for the poor” does not suggest that God does not love all of us. It’s simply suggests those with struggles in life have a special place in God’s care because they need it most. And it’s also to suggest that we ought to have a special place in our hearts for those facing life’s struggles Today's texts: Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23; James 2: 1-10, 14-17 Let’s start by recalling those words at the beginning of the reading we heard today from the book of Proverbs: “The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all. Whoever sows injustic...
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Narcissus was so focused on himself, he drowned in his quest to revel in his own beauty. Solomon sought a discerning mind. How can we use our minds to discern a path that connects us to God and to the world's needs? And how can singing together serve as an antidote to narcissism? Today's texts: Psalm 111; Ephesians 5: 15-20   When the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope first saw their baby boy, they were awestruck by his beauty. Many of you who are parents might know that feeling, looking at a new child who you are quite sure is the most beautiful child ever born. But C...
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Rev. Julia Weaver talked with Pastor Phil during worship about her work as a chaplain in the Dane County Jail. Here's a link to a video of their conversation. The scripture texts for today were 2 Samuel 11: 1-15 (the story of David and Bathsheba) and Matthew 25: 34-40 (feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison).
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