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| Summary: God’s light is shining — do we notice it? God is inviting us to discover new revelations — are we willing to be surprised by God? |
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| Summary: Imagine Mary’s postpartum experience in scripture, reading as though it were happening today. Bethlehem would be the site of a media storm unparalleled in its history: TV cameramen in the streets, talking heads giving interviews and every social media site lighting up like Christmas trees. Think now of the parents in this story: Total strangers — priests of another religion — are in their home giving their child gifts that are — to say the least — not age appropriate.
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| Summary: Ours is not a God of pain and suffering. Loss, grief and sadness are all part of this earthly existence, but God did not send the Christ child to bring pain. Christ came to bear pain, to experience all that it means to be human, and reorder and recreate it into something good. Our God is a creative spirit that moves over the chaotic void and organizes it into something meaningful and good. |
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| Summary: Epiphany is about the surprising and seeming illogical courses God lays out before us. God’s way is not the course of routine, of ritual, of tradition, of habit. And if we follow God’s will, chances are, our lives won’t take a logical course. While we search for meaning in the routine, God moves in an unexpected direction. Epiphany calls us to listen for and celebrate the unexpected and surprising paths God wants us to take. |
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| Summary: Many forces in human life can shatter families and ruin friendships. But we can defuse explosive situations by showing gentleness and patience, speaking the truth in love, and forgiving others as Christ has forgiven us. |
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| Summary: Jesus’ epiphany celebrates his manifestation to the world, but it also demonstrates how he was recognized for his unique role in salvation history. As Jesus was sent by God into our world and was recognized for who he was, so the Lord has chosen us to be his followers. Let us hear the Master’s call and willingly chose to follow him. |
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| Summary: The wise men teach us to look for fresh epiphanies and to act on them. |
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| Summary: The traditional nativity set has it all wrong when we squeeze three Magi in between the sheep and the shepherds. It gets worse when we call them kings. What we know is that months or even years after Jesus was born, at least two sorcerers come from the East to present gifts to the young king of the Jews. They personify the idolatrous notion that the gods and humanity are controlled by the stars, which reveal their secrets to the initiated. They also represent the boundless will of the incarnate Savior to save everyone, no matter how lost. |
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| Summary: The wise men followed God’s guidance perfectly, handled King Herod perfectly and brought perfect gifts. They are models for those of us who are looking for Jesus today. |
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| Summary: While each year, nativity scenes depict the wise men at the stable, their visit may have come as much as two years later. Who were these mysterious men? Where did they come from? Did they know their gifts would hold as much significance as the church places on them? We can still learn much from these men who came seeking and worshiping the king of the Jews. |
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| Summary: The people we call the “wise men” were moved to make a difficult journey to discover divine truth. What they found when they finally made it past Jerusalem — and the lying king there — and got to Bethlehem was a different king: one who was, himself, the truth. We can search for the Christ child today and discover his eternal truth for ourselves and others.
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| Summary: Succeeding at the sort of change represented by New Year’s resolutions requires not so much willpower as a particular kind of focus. |
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| Summary: Jesus came not to threaten us, but to save us and bring light in our darkness. |
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| Summary: A good telescope brings distant things into focus. In somewhat the same way, the Bible brings Jesus into focus, helping us to learn what he has to say to us. In other words, the Bible enables us to have an epiphany. |
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| Summary: The Magi’s journey to Judea and encounter with Jesus invites us to find true life in Jesus. This is a life that is open to all. |
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| Summary: When the plans we so carefully make are changed against our wishes, God may well smile knowing that the detour will take us to a better place. Joseph had not planned to go to Egypt anymore than he had planned to go to Bethlehem, but he was a man who knew the voice of God. He knew the difference between listening to God and attempting to be God. This story of a trip to Egypt, which we have heard so many times, is an invitation to all of us to rethink the way we respond to so many of life’s unexpected and sometimes unwelcome moments. |
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| Summary: While the Bible does not offer a way to see the future, it does offer a way to approach the future. Biblical hope lights the path for us. It allows us to move forward, trusting God. |
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| Summary: Faithful listening to God and obedience to God make living with Jesus an adventure for Joseph and Mary … and for all of us as well. There is much we can learn from Joseph that will help us throughout our lives. |
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| Summary: Joseph was not the only one to be told to take a walk in the dark to a place he had never been. He was not the only one called to lead his family to safety. Each of us is called to take our family to the only safe place there is, a place of holiness. The walk may be difficult. It may have to be taken in the dark of doubt or even the dark of not knowing. But ours is a God who walks with us and who can be counted on to bring us home. |
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| Summary: Our faith becomes dry and boring when we practice it by ritual alone. As Joseph did, we need to be willing to heed God’s renewing calls for us to experience his full joy. |
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| Summary: In this story of the holy family’s flight to Egypt, we are shown what is perhaps the primary mystery of the Incarnation: We are shown where in the world we will find God in the flesh. |
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| Summary: Even though we face the upcoming year with some uncertainty about what will happen, we know from the horrible story of the death of innocent children that Matthew takes the evil of the word seriously. When Matthew assures us that God is with us, he means that God is with us in the worst of circumstances.
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| Summary: Joseph was warned in a dream to take his new family to Egypt and, later, to bring it home again. But Herod exacted a terrible price from the families with infant boys of the area around Bethlehem. Evil still threatens children today. How can we respond? |
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| There are 23 sermons in your results. |
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