Sermon Archive (Page 33)

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton May 1, 2011 John 20:19-31 Try to forget, for a moment, everything you thought you knew about Thomas. Notice that I didn’t say “Doubting Thomas,” because this nickname is the first thing we need to forget. So…forget that somewhere along the way you came to believe that Thomas’ primary attribute is doubt. Forget that you still think of him as a slightly inferior disciple. Forget that you’re pretty sure Jesus rebukes him for his lack…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton Easter Sunday – April 24, 2011 John 20:1-18 “Is it true?” Is it true? This is the question that Karl Barth, one the great theologians, says brings people to worship. Is it true that God lives and gives us life? Is it true that God not only established a routine, what we call the laws of nature, but that one day God broke the routine and somehow raised Jesus from the dead? Is it true…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton April 10, 2011 Read: John 11:1-45 The Lenten journey, which has taken us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death last Sunday, now leads us to the dry bones of Ezekiel and the tomb of Lazarus and the gift of life out of death. This morning’s gospel story began a few weeks earlier. The brother, Lazarus, was taken ill. We have no details, but the illness frightened his two sisters so much that they…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton April 3, 2011 Read: John 9:1-41 This is another long gospel story this morning and I can’t begin to touch on all that’s here. But, sinfulness is a theme that runs through this powerful story. The Pharisees discuss Jesus’ sinfulness in several verses. In v. 34, they return to the sinfulness of the man born blind, with another reference to his birth in sin. But the story ends with Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees, whose…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton March 27, 2011 Read: John 4:5-42 This was a rather long gospel reading this morning, this story of the woman at the well. It is actually one of Jesus’ longest recorded conversations and this Samaritan woman finds herself engaged with Jesus in a genuine and extended conversation in which she holds her own quite well. And, this story comes just after the story of Nicodemus. One can’t help but notice the sharp contrasts between the…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton March 20, 2011 Read: John 3:1-17 “No one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Nicodemus has seen something in Jesus that has intrigued him, but from the conversation that follows, we will see that Nicodemus has witnessed just enough to make him curious, perhaps, but not enough for him to understand… at least not fully. That happens sometimes. John Claypool told a story a number of years ago.…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton 1 Lent – March 13, 2011Read: Genesis 2:1517, 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11 And so we have begun the season of Lent and our first Sunday in Lent begins with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted three times by the devil . Taken together, the three rejected temptations not only demonstrate that Jesus is righteous according to the law but also prove his identity as God’s divine and beloved son. Let’s take a closer…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton The Transfiguration – March 6, 2011 Read: Matthew 17:1-9 Once upon a time, there was a bunny rabbit by the name of Mr. Hopewell. Mr. Hopewell had the unfortunate experience of being born in Minnesota. That is, it was very cold, cold, cold and very white, white, white during wintertime. Mr. Hopewell, this bunny rabbit, had never seen anything but the white of snow. When this bunny rabbit talked to other bunny rabbits, the other…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton February 27, 2011Read: Isaiah 49:8-16a & Matthew 6:24-34 Someone once wrote a simple three word poem about how long anxieties have plagued the human race. And he wrote: “Adam had ’em.”The author was rightly suggesting that worry has been present in the world since the beginning of human life. And far from abating, the reasons for worry seem to multiply. We do not all worry about the same things, nor to the same extent, but…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton February 20, 2011 Read: Matthew 5:38-48 So here we are again with a tough gospel lesson from Jesus. Loving our enemies and being perfect. Turning the other cheek, going the second mile. How is it possible to do this, to love our enemies? What is Jesus saying? Is he saying we are supposed to be passive in the face of injustice? Jesus wasn’t when he walked this earth, so let’s try to put what he…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton February 13, 2011 Read: Matthew 5:21-37 So… how many of us are uncomfortable after that gospel reading? I know I was the first time through. I would say that every one of us can see ourselves somewhere in this piece of scripture from Matthew, and we could work through each one these points this morning, but that is really not what Jesus was getting at with his statements. These words of Jesus’ are a continuation…

By The Rev. Sherry Crompton January 30, 2011 Read: Matthew 5:1-12 In the midst of this snowy winter, I want to talk about birds. Specifically a bird called a nuthatch. A nuthatch is a small bird that is about as long as the spoon you use to eat your cereal (5 to 6 inches long). There are different types of nuthatches, but they all have one interesting thing in common. Instead of climbing up the trunk of a tree, like…