Pentecost pushes us out there; it pushes us out there just beyond that which we can know and understand; that’s what happens when you start to talk about the Holy Spirit.
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Easter 05/12/2013
Today we reach the Seventh and final Sunday of Easter. I have to say though, that even for those of us who appreciate and celebrate the fullness of the church year ... seven weeks is a long time to keep the resurrection glow going.
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Ascension 05/09/2013
The Ascension of Jesus is the final act of his earthly mission.
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Easter 05/05/2013
Our first hymn this morning echoed the second reading where it speaks of seeing the streams of living waters springing from eternal love.
Rev. Allan Johnson
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Easter - Holy Humor 04/28/2013
Holy Humor Sunday is not on any official liturgical calendar that I know of, but there is some basis for it especially during the Easter season.
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Easter 04/21/2013
A funny thing happened to me a couple of years ago, something I never would have predicted would happen; I’m still a little embarrassed to talk about it; I started reading poetry.
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Easter 04/14/2013
I don’t think there’s much question that the end of last week’s Doubting Thomas reading was the intended end of John’s gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book."
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Easter 04/07/2013
There’s a novel by John Irving titled A Prayer for Owen Meany; I don’t know if any of you have read it but I’ve read a few John Irving novels and of the ones I’ve read it’s my favorite.
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Easter Sunday 03/31/2013
There’s an old Jewish prayer that begins, “Days pass and years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles.”
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Good Friday 03/29/2013
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Of the seven words we consider today, forsaken is probably the most difficult one to hear.
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Maundy Thursday 03/28/2013
Tonight we begin the Great Three Days. The liturgies unfold the mystery of God’s love in events that don’t seem to be about love but about how things can go wrong, betrayal, deceit and false accusations.
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Palm Sunday 03/24/2013
With all of the gospels, the Passion, the account of Jesus arrest, trial and crucifixion is the longest and most detailed part of the story.
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Lent 03/17/2013
“Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.” It might not strike you at first, but that is an astonishing statement from the prophet Isaiah.
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Lent 03/10/2013
There was survey done a couple of years ago on Love and Forgiveness in American Society.
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Lent 03/03/2013
Do you ever remember trying to get a teacher off track, changing the subject, getting them to talk about something else, so you could hopefully avoid doing something you didn’t want to do?
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Lent 02/24/2013
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” You’ve probably heard that before.
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Lent 02/17/2013
On this First Sunday in Lent, the battle lines are drawn.
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Ash Wednesday 02/13/2013
Throughout the history of Christianity, Easter has been the primary festival, the center of the church year.
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Transfiguration 02/10/2013
Moses went up Mt. Sinai and received the two stone tablets of the covenant, the covenant that included the Ten Commandments.
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Epiphany 02/03/2013
“Love is patient; love is kind.” When you hear those words and the ones that follow you probably can’t help but think “wedding,” maybe your own.
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Epiphany 01/27/2013
When I opened this text to read it I had one of those little God surprise moments.... Ann Gonyea
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Epiphany 01/20/2013
The water to wine miracle is another Bible story that we tend to think of as common knowledge, one that everyone knows.
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Baptism of Our Lord 01/13/2013
Does the number 24601 mean anything to you? It registers with a few of you; I’ll try to get the rest of you up to speed here eventually.
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Christmas 12/30/12
You hear me talk a lot about new possibilities, new opportunities, about second chances and about new beginnings as being a central theme that runs through the Bible.
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Christmas Day 12/25/2012
Christmas Day worship always kind of feels to me a little bit like a party after most everyone has gone home.
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Christmas Eve 12/24/2012
Some of you remember that I did a sermon earlier this year that talked about angels.
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