Sermons by Sherry Deets (Page 20)
Sherry Deets is the current Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Trinity in Coatesville, PA.
Commercials Are a Lie
2 Lent – March 1, 2015 Mark 8:31-38 Early in Jesus ministry, he chose 12 people to go with him into the future together. They were going to be leaders, proclaiming good news and preaching in front of throngs of people. And the early days of ministry were wildly successful. Together, they helped Jesus feed the 5,000. They were there for the healing of sick people, the winning of debates against critics. They were learning from Jesus how to calm…
It’s Still Raining
1 Lent – February 21, 2015 Genesis 9:12-13 and Mark 1:9-15 The first Sunday in Lent is always Jesus’ temptation. Always. The story is also in Matthew and Luke. But when was the last time you noticed just how brief Mark’s temptation story is? It’s virtually non-existent. It’s really a summary. To the point. No details really. Just that it happened. I could bring in the details from Matthew and Luke, but that is Matthew and Luke. What if we…
Jesus Frees Us
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 5 Epiphany – February 8, 2015 Mark 1:29-39 Last week we watched as Jesus’ first action in Mark’s Gospel is to cast out an unclean spirit and interpreted that as God’s commitment to stand against all the powers that keep us from abundant life. We talked about breaking through boundaries. The boundaries that keep us from abundant life. This week that pattern continues. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and she begins to serve them. It’s the…
The Nine Dot Puzzle
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 4 Epiphany – February 1, 2015 Mark 1:21-28 Possessed by the Holy Spirit, fresh from successfully confronting Satan in the wilderness, preaching the reign of God, and now in the company of at least four followers, it’s time for Jesus’ public ministry to gather momentum. The man with the unclean spirit finds Jesus, initiating the exchange. His opening question, asked by the spirit that possesses him, is idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate. It conveys…
Jesus Just Happens
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Epiphany, January 25, 2015 Mark 1:14-20 So, we are in the church season called Epiphany and you recall that Epiphany is an immediate and meaningful understanding of something. Surprising. Sudden. Profound. There are several things I could focus on with our gospel reading this morning, but this time the word ‘immediately’ caught my attention. I think that “immediately” can be less about marking time and more about describing action. Immediately does not only designate…
The Year of Outrage
By The Rev. Sherry Deets Epiphany – January 4, 2015 Matthew 2:1-12 Happy New Year! Happy Epiphany! Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany and the beginning of a new church season. Matthew tells us of the wise men, gentiles, also known as the Magi, who observed a star and came in search of the child, born king of the Jews. Not unheard of in that day – the idea that heavenly signs marked the births and deaths of…
Tonight, Our World Has Stopped (Christmas Eve)
By The Rev. Sherry Deets Christmas Eve 2014 Luke 2:1-20 It’s Christmas Eve and frankly, the world just now seems a little dark, even hostile, to me. It might be the pall that seems to have hung over the national mood since the events in Ferguson and New York. Or maybe it’s the number of global “hotspots” there are in the Middle East, the Ukraine, and more. Or maybe is the number of deaths caused from Ebola and the fear…
Francis, Teach Me To Preach
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Advent – December 13, 2014 John 1:6-8, 19-28 Today’s gospel reading is about the John the Baptist from the perspective of the Apostle John. Last week we heard the story from Mark’s perspective. If you will recall, Mark’s story was more concerned with the baptism of repentance, while John’s telling of it is more concerned with the testimony, or the witness, of John the Baptist. Rather than placing a focus on the character of…
The Beginning of the Good News
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 2 Advent – December 7, 2014 Mark 1:1-8 It’s the second Sunday in Advent and today we hear about John the Baptist proclaiming the coming of Christ and most importantly, note how our gospel from Mark begins: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. Notice that Mark doesn’t call his book, “The Good News (Gospel) of Jesus.” Rather, he titles it “The Beginning of the Good News….” Which means…
Stay awake! God is here and now.
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 1 Advent – November 30, 2014 Mark 13:24-37 “Keep awake!” “Stay alert” Keep awake. We hear this every year in Advent – this church season before Christmas in which we anticipate, we wait and prepare for the coming of Christ. We wait. Consider the different ways in which we wait. Is there a difference between waiting for Christmas and waiting for Christ? Obviously, we know when Christmas will arrive and mostly what it will be…
Which Commandment is the Greatest?
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 20 Pentecost, Proper 25 – October 26, 2014 Matthew 22:34-46 So, we hear in today’s gospel reading that a lawyer asked a question to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” And there is nothing new in Jesus’ answer. It is not something original. In Jewish writings long before Jesus’ time, these two commandments summarized the whole of the law. In fact, Luke’s Gospel attributes this summary not to…
A Home Fit For a King
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 17 Pentecost, Proper 22 – October 5, 2014 Matthew 21:33-46 He was, by all accounts, a successful man. This builder of fine homes in an upscale American suburb was known to all as a creative craftsman, a shrewd businessman, a fair-minded employer, and a generous benefactor. But he was aging now, and before he set out for Florida for the winter, he approached his top superintendent and told him that he was retiring. “I want…