Scripture:  Colossians 1:15-20

I grabbed the remote to turn on the television.  I didn’t know what the program would be; I was tired at the end of a long day & just wanted to relax for a few minutes.

The sound came on briefly before the picture appeare...

Scripture: 

Thessalonians 3:6-13

Brothers & sisters don’t get discouraged in doing what is right. 2 Thessalonians 3:13

It's been twenty-six weeks of "ordinary time" since the last church feast day on Pentecost Sunday — an entire half-year.  Next week we...

Scripture - Luke 19:1-10

Sunday school classes love Zacchaeus.  At lease, they love to act out his story & sing about him.  (Zacchaeus was a wee little man…)  The little man who climbs up a tree to see Jesus provides one of the most vivid short storie...

Scripture - Luke 18:9-14

Let us enter into a court of law, wh

ere a civil case is being tried.  I haven’t been in a courtroom often, but we see them on TV & in the newspapers, & from time to time legal cases are widely reported & may even make history....

Scripture -

Luke 18:1-8

Before I begin my message, I want to say a word about our Lord personally.  I believe that he was God manifest in the flesh.  I also believe that he was not any less God because he was a man.  On the other hand, I believe he was...

Scripture - Luke 17:11-19

Lepers became part of my nightmares at an early age, after I watched a film with my parents & godparents directed by Federico Fellini.  I don’t remember what the film was about, but I do remember the lepers.  They lived in ca...

Scripture - Luke 15:11-32

We might think that the parable of the prodigal son, as it’s usually known, hardly needs an introduction.  It has inspired artists & writers for a couple thousand years.  Rembrandt’s painting, with the younger son on his knee...

Scripture -

Matthew 7:7-12

On first impression, these verses seem to be extremely naïve.  They seem to promise categorically that we can get anything we pray for as long as we pray with enough tenacity & intensity.  Because of these sayings, radio & TV...

Scripture - Jeremiah 1:4-10

Let’s begin this morning by understanding who Jeremiah was.  Verse 1 tells us he was the son of Hilkiah.  Hilkiah was the high priest who found the Book of the Law during the time of King Josiah.  It was the finding of the...

Scripture:

Jeremiah 1:4-10

The timing & era of Isaiah is a question scholars have dealt with for a long-time with no real consensus.  Jewish tradition says that Isaiah died during the reign of Manasseh of Judah & that his career spanned more than 80 ye...