Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 6:25-35

Sermon

Molly F. James

My favorite yoga teacher ends each class with an invitation: "You are now free to roam the earth in an attitude of gratitude." An attitude of gratitude — those are wise words. Might the world be a different place, might the kingdom of God be more fully realized, if more of us lived into that invitation? Like most wisdom, that invitation is found across traditions, and most assuredly, we Christians...

2. Bless the World

Luke 6:20-31

Sermon

Molly F. James

A phone rang on a Sunday morning in September 1959. It broke into the joyful chaos that is life with five children between the ages of three and fourteen. It was a phone call she knew was coming, but that fact never does prepare one fully for the reality. It was the phone call that told her that her beloved husband, her soulmate, the father of her children was dead at the age of 38. The brain tumo...

3. Christ's Monarchy

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Molly F. James

Today is Christ the King Sunday. Our readings — particularly those from Colossians and Luke’s gospel — are all offering us images of Christ as our king. Like any good American, I have mixed feelings about monarchy. There is a romanticism about the monarchy. I love the stories of princes and princesses, kings and queens. While those make nice stories, when it comes down to it, I will also admit to ...

4. Healing

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Molly F. James

When I was in fourth or fifth grade, I was helping my dad in the kitchen. I had been taught how to use a knife properly, but I wasn’t always perfect at it. I slipped and knicked my finger. It was just a small cut but it was on the knuckle, so if the cut was going to heal, we had to find a way to splint my finger. I remember being very proud that my dad simply took a piece of kindling from the pile...

5. Keeping the Faith

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Molly F. James

I don’t usually give titles to my sermons but today’s is “Keeping the Faith.” Our Collect, our lessons — particularly the gospel and the epistle — are about being faithful, about being steadfast in our faith. In the gospel, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and to not lose heart.” Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unjust judge and the widow who was faithful...

6. Making a Difference

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Molly F. James

My college friend Amelia is well-off by any standard. Her parents hired a circus for her fifth birthday party. Her mother has china and place settings for one hundred people. Her father is a doctor who made a breakthrough discovery that helped millions and made a fortune for his family. There are libraries named after him on multiple college campuses. On the surface, she might seem to be just lik...

7. Reflecting God’s Abundant Love

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Molly F. James

I lived for a portion of my childhood in Bath, Maine. There are many notable things about this small city on the Kennebec River, but is perhaps best known for its ships. In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was full of shipyards that built all kinds of wooden sailing vessels. Now it has just one shipyard, Bath Iron Works, which is a huge facility that builds destroyers and frigates for the US Navy...

8. The Definition of Church

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Molly F. James

I grew up in small town in Maine. So small that the Episcopal church in town, St. John’s, was just an historic building used for events and concerts. It wasn’t an active parish. We worshiped in the next town over which was big enough to have a real downtown and a wonderful Episcopal parish, St. Philip’s. I loved that community for the ways in which it supported and formed me, and for the valuable ...

9. The Time Is Near

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Molly F. James

And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.’ ” This is the heart of our gospel reading today. For those of us who live a comfortable middle class existence, it can be easy to dismiss our whole reading with its predictions of persecutions, earthquakes, and famines. How could those apply to our liv...

10. Thy Will Be Done

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

Molly F. James

Recently, I was in a bit of a hurry to get something done (which I am slowly discovering is rarely a good idea). I was moving things around at home, and I broke the lamp in my husband’s study. I felt very badly about what I had done, and I wanted to remedy the situation. I offered to go right out and buy him a new lamp. He said not to worry; it wasn’t his favorite lamp anyway, and we could go and ...

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