Sermons

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/256270902″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] READINGS Ephesians 5:21-33 – Wives and Husbands Psalm 67 – May God Be Gracious to Us and Bless Us Revelation 19:6-10 – The Marriage Supper of the Lamb Matthew 25:1-13 – The Parable of the Ten Virgins HOMILY What makes a great wedding? Is it the fragrance and color of the flower arrangements? The particular grandeur of the venue? Is it the number and camaraderie of the guests?...

What would it have been like, on the first Holy Saturday? What would it be like, tonight, if Jesus has been dead for almost 33 hours? All the hopes and dreams of tonight’s readings – shattered. Blown away by the cold winds of death. Jesus of Nazareth lies in a dark grave, and we, his shell-shocked followers, gather to make some sort of sense of this week’s events – to salvage some sort of hope from this week’s wreckage....

It’s been a grueling past few weeks at Beeson. Our Spring Break happens to coincide with Holy Week this year, and it can’t come quickly enough! Part of the hard work has been preparing to preach three sermons for class. However, the opportunity to study and preach God’s Word is a joy that outweighs the burdens of preparation! I have preached twice in the past month on Psalm 32. First, I delivered a sermon (“The Refreshment of Forgiveness”) designed for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year C, for Dr....

There are better preachers out there. So, if you’re short on time, go and listen to them! However, if you’ve got 26 minutes to spare, I offer “The Challenge of Christmas Light” to you, and would love to hear your feedback. I preached this sermon on December 27, 2015 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Mountain Brook, AL, as we celebrated the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist....

I. Introduction: The Prodigal Son, Part 2 What a relief, to get out of that house. Ordinarily, Jude would have scoffed at his father’s request to purchase farming equipment from the next city – a three-day journey! But ever since Ethan, that rascal (you might even say that prodigal) brother of his, had returned, Jude could not stand to be in either man’s presence for long. So he relished the chance to forget about his family tension on this farming errand....

What a relief, to get out of that house. Ordinarily, Jude would have scoffed at his father’s request to purchase farming equipment from the next city – a three-day journey! But ever since Ethan, that rascal (you might even say that prodigal) brother of his, had returned, Jude could not stand to be in either man’s presence for long. So he relished the chance to forget about his family tension on this farming errand....

A homily on Mark 8:11-21 (ESV): The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat....

A homily on Mark 1:29-45 (ESV): And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons....

A homily on James 2.1-13 (ESV): “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?...

NOTE: The audio of the following sermon, preached on July 05, 2015 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Mountain Brook, Alabama, can be found here. (I began with a bit of a mic issue. Ignore the garbled first 10 seconds or so!) — Introduction The “hometown,” “home court” advantage is a very real occurrence in many areas of life. Familiar fans and supportive surroundings help us humans to perform better at many tasks, from singing to sports....