Sundays at St. James

“A wedding feast, tilted” Main point : The church assembled celebrates the Eucharistic wedding feast of the ages. INTRODUCTION What kind of Christians would we be if we took the gentle, comforting bits of Scripture and ignored the more difficult passages?

"A Sermon for Those Who Are Not Here” Main point : The guardians of society must lead with justice or they will be crushed. Our hope is in the cornerstone who is Christ.

“The Gift of a Good Quote” Main point : Work done is of more consequence for the future than the foresight of an archangel. - GMD INTRODUCTION Do any of you know someone who is good at sharing smart-sounding quotes? Maybe you don’t know if they came up with it themselves or if someone famous said it first, but they often have a good turn-of-phrase or one liner that so often hits the nail on the he...

“It’s not fair!” Main point : We can be content when we decide to exist in the economy of God’s grace rather than the economy of strict justice. INTRODUCTION Do you want to know what God is like? Jesus teaches us again. “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. …” and Jesus proceeds to tell us a story about labor and wages that...

“Forgiveness from the Heart” Main point : Though it is hard to forgive, God reaches to the depth of our hearts INTRODUCTION “How many times should I forgive?" Peter asks. “As many as 7 times?” Peter sounds to me like a schoolboy coming to Jesus with what he thinks is the correct answer. “No,” Jesus says, “70 x 7” And then he proceeds to tell a rather scary story of unforgiveness between a kin...

“(Not so) Radical Resolutions” Main point : Unity through conflict in the body of Christ. INTRODUCTION Whether it's obvious or not, today’s gospel is a lesson on the Trinity and creation. Follow me… There is one God existing in three persons / hypostases : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  That one God made the world and all that is in it. God made humans in God’s image ( imago dei ) to populate...

“Christ suffers with us” Main point : The Way of the Cross does its work in us.

“Christ Our Rock” Main point : The rock is Christ. INTRODUCTION Last week we looked at Christ our peace breaks down the walls that divide us.  This week we look at Christ our rock who is the sure foundation for his church. 

“Christ Our Peace” Main point : God breaks down the walls that divide us and renews our hearts to love our neighbors. INTRODUCTION Peter the Apostle goes to his friends with a story.

“Who’s the main character?” Main point : Jesus comes to us in many ways in our times of need. He is the main character in our stories. INTRODUCTION Have you ever felt bad for not having enough faith? If you have, you aren't alone. I talk to a lot of people who wish they could have more faith - you know, like the really good Christians - but they just can seem to do it right. So they sit under...

“Jesus Said: You Feed Them” Main point : In the Holy Supper and the common supper, Jesus says to us, “You feed them.” INTRODUCTION It is hard to live anywhere in the world these days and not know who Taylor Swift is. Even if you can’t name one song or sing one lyric, it seems like everyone knows her name and that she’s a pop star. Of course, knowing who she is isn’t the same as being a fan.

“What is the kingdom of heaven like?” Main point : The kingdom of heaven is growing and that is a promise. INTRODUCTION A few months ago many of us watched with great interest as the astronauts from Artemis II described to us what it was like going further away from the Earth than any human had ever gone.  What's it like out there? What can you tell us about the dark side of the moon? I was re...

Guest Speaker Madeleine Schmidt spoke on weeds being sewn in a field alongside wheat and how we are unable to distinguish between the two: Only God has the ability to judge, and he will wait until the both are fully grown before he will remove the weeds.

“The Generous Sower and the Good Soil” Main point : Our prayer is to ask God to make us good soil. INTRODUCTION This morning Jesus gives us an illustration of how God’s good news is received by people in the world. He compares the good news being spread around to seed being spread by a sower. And when that seed falls on the earth, it is received differently by various types of earth.  The seed hit...

“Struggle” Main point :  INTRODUCTION In our second reading from the Epistle of Romans, Paul, the writer says some very personal things about his struggle to do good. He says, “the good thing I want to do, I don't do, and the evil thing that I don't want to I end up doing, even though I don't want to do it!” Have you ever felt that way yourself? I know I have. And I'm coming off of...

“In the Name Of” Main point : We bring good news in the name of the Apostles. INTRODUCTION Today is the third in our three-week set of reading together the “Sending Discourse” between Jesus and the 12 disciples here in Matthew, Chapter 10. The shortness and simplicity of today’s text come as a relief compared to the longer, more complex texts of the last two weeks.

“Good News for Family Systems” Main point : Our family systems can train us to oppose the good news. Awareness and grace lead us to salvation.

“Share the Good News” Main point : The kingdom of heaven has come near. Share the good news. INTRODUCTION Is there anything better and receiving good news? There seems to be so much struggle, and hardship, and pain, and violence, and anger in the world that I sometimes wonder where the good news is hiding. John Krasinski ( Jack Ryan and The Office ) with S ome G ood N ews (SGN) during the pandemic...

“Those who are well” Main point : Those who are well do not need a physician - only those who are sick are in need.

"Tri-unity as pattern for living” Main point : The Trinity is the foundation of reality. INTRODUCTION May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (And also with you.) I bet some of you didn’t know that our greeting is take...

“The Spirit Brings Life” Main point : The Holy Spirit brings the life of God to the world in various ways.

INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Seventh Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. Today we encounter the gift of the Spirit of Truth who leads us into that resurrection life.

Main point : We can trust that God will lead us into all truth by his Spirit. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Sixth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. Today we encounter the gift of the Spirit of Truth who leads us into that resu...

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Main point : Participation in truth and life is participation in Jesus. That goes for everyone. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. This is the day whe...

Main point : Jesus is the protector of the sheep and giver of abundant life. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, but in a little bit of a different way. This is the day when we reflect on Jesus being the Good Shepherd.  As we begin, notice verse 6 of ou...