Sermons by Sherry Deets (Page 22)

By The Rev. Sherry Deets Pentecost – June 8, 2014 Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23 Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. The day in which we mark and remember the gift of the Holy Spirit. Often called the birthday of the Church. The coming of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, that will never, ever leave us alone, just as Jesus promised. So, if we wanted to encounter the Holy Spirit of God, where would we look? And how would…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 7 Easter – June 1, 2014 Acts 1:6-14 and John 17:1-11 We just heard Jesus say, in John’s gospel: “and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. It’s not too often we get a straight forward definition of eternal life and here it is. Eternal life is to know God and Jesus. So what if it is that simple? How would that…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 5 Easter – May 18, 2014 John 14:1-14 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. He says this in response to Thomas’ honest questioning – “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” How can we know the way? If we’re honest with ourselves, we have the same question. How can we know the way?” Jesus is speaking of a way of life…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 4 Easter – May 11, 2014 John 10:1-10 Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved…. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” We understand a gate as a means of access, or an entryway. Jesus says that he is the gate – the access to salvation and not just life, but abundant life. Abundant life isn’t defined by Jesus, but this piece of scripture comes…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Easter – May 4, 2014 Luke 24:13-35 The most striking words in our gospel story today are these: “We had hoped.” “We had hoped.” We hear families use that phrase when they are packing up the things they had brought with them to the ICU. “We had hoped … ,” they say, and then they go home alone. Families use this phrase when addictions return, or jobs go away. Although theologies of hope focus…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets Easter Sunday – April 20, 2014 Matthew 28:1-10 Happy Easter! Matthew presents us with one of the most dramatic readings of the resurrection. There was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord descended, his appearance like lightening. In other words, light has split a crack in the universe and everything we thought we knew has changed. To meet Jesus is for the ground to move beneath you, nothing remains as it was. The…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 5 Lent – April 6, 2014 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…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 4 Lent – March 30, 2014 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…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Lent – March 23, 2014 John 4:5-42 The story of the woman at the well may surprise you. The way it’s commonly told goes like this: Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and asks her for a drink of water. They talk. In the process, she confesses to have been married five times. He confronts her sinfulness. She recognizes him as the Christ and rushes off to tell the others, shouting, “Come,…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 1 Lent – March 9, 2014 Matthew 4:1-11 At Jesus’ baptism, the heavenly voice announces, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” And it seems that almost immediately afterwards, Jesus is tempted by the devil, who treats Jesus as if the reality of his identity is the question: “If you are the Son of God…” Are you really? Can you prove it? Jesus’ responses show him pondering an entirely different question: What does it mean for…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets Last Sunday of Epiphany/Transfiguration – March 2, 2014 Matthew 17:1-9 (As written by Barbara Brown Taylor in TextWeek) The story that we have just heard defies interpretation, although that has not stopped legions of interpreters from trying. It is the luminous story of a mystical encounter, not only between God and God’s Beloved but also between those at the center of the story and those who watch. Those at the center are Jesus, Moses and…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 7 Epiphany – February 23, 2014 Matthew 5:38-48 Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile and love your enemies. Have we heard these phrases so often that we don’t pay much attention to them? Are they simply niceties? Ideals? So if we are inclined to read over these familiar words too quickly, or if we want to dismiss these commands out of hand as pious idealisms, I’d urge us instead to slow down and…