Sermons
Open Swim
This week in worship we continue in the Book of the Acts, and we get what is probably my favorite baptism story, which seems appropriate coming on the heels of Santiago’s baptism in worship last week. The Choir also has an anthem prepared for us, and it’s Mother’s Day! So I’m sending out a huge thank you to all the moms out there. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Acts 8:26-39 26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up…
It’s All About Community
We will be spending the next three weeks in the Book of Acts, which is widely considered the sequel to Luke, as both of them are attributed to Luke, and it picks up where Luke leaves off. And we have a baptism this Sunday! I haven’t done a baptism in years and I can’t wait! It’s a really full Sunday, but fear not, the Sermon will be abbreviated this week to keep us on track. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Acts 6:1-15…
We Fall. We Rise.
With Easter being last Sunday that means that this Sunday is our last Sunday in the Gospel of Luke! We’ve been in Luke for four full months, and what a journey it’s been. This week we’ll take a look at the famous “Walk to Emmaus” and how things come full circle. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:13-32 (NRSVUE) 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other…
More Idle Tales, Please
… Jesus was crucified because of the culmination of his work defending the defenseless, bringing in those who were cast out, declaring clean those who were labeled unclean, and in so doing, challenging the religious/political systems of the day, or as the powers that be usually interpret it, insurrection. But at his death a curious thing happens. Luke 23:47 says, “When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’” Kind of a powerful…
The Stones Will Shout Out
I have long said that I believe that Palm Sunday may be the most misunderstood Sunday in the Christian Calendar (with Pentecost right on its tail!). Too often the story stops with the crowds waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna” (neither of which exist in Luke’s Gospel, by the way!), and don’t get to the part of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, and then shifting from grief to anger and driving the money changers out of the temple. It’s a wild…
Reimagining Evangelism
Hello, Beloved of PPUMC! I write today with great excitement. Do you know what yesterday was? It was the Twins Home Opener! One of my favorite days of the year! And this Sunday we get one of my all time favorite passages. We will be looking Zacchaeus, who was a wee little man. This story is a mere 10 verses, but it packs a huge punch, and in it will be dealing with the dreaded “E-Word”… “evangelism”. I’m looking forward…
Mind the Gap
This Sunday we get a lesser known and troubling parable. I’m looking forward to digging into it with you all. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 16:19-31 19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man…
The Samaritan Woman at the Well
Hello, Beloved of PPUMC! This Sunday, I am on vacation. UCC Pastor Oby Ballinger will be filling in, and I think you’ll find him delightful and be interested in the work he is doing. Because of the work he’s doing, we will be taking a little detour from Luke. Though things will certainly connect as two Sundays ago we looked at the context of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and this week Oby will dive into the story from…
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:1-2,11-32 (NRSVUE) 15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all…
Selfless Love
This Sunday we get kind of an odd collection of scripture passages, where in, as one person said in our Wednesday Bible study, Jesus seems “exasperated”. We’ll see how and if I pull this thing together! -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:1-9, 31-35 13 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners…