“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Yes, indeed, I am going to preach a sermon focusing on that passage. I guess I like to do things the hard way. Or, probably more accurately, any sermon I […]
What does a Christian Community look like? Today I am not going to give a sermon, but instead lead a discussion, or a Bible study. I want us to look very closely at our readings from Acts for today and since it is a passage about Christian community, I think that it is important that […]
A Sermon for St. Andrew Church in Newcastle, Maine, preached by the bishop, the Right Reverend Thomas J. Brown, on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, 30 April 2023. To God be the glory. The image of the Good Shepherd is both among the oldest and deeply loved images for the meaning of the resurrection. During […]
Today we are celebrating Earth Day here at St. Andrew’s. Every year when Earth Day arrives, I think the same thing, “How typical of us humans to celebrate the planet that allows for our very existence only one day a year. Every day should be earth day. Perhaps we wouldn’t be in the planetary emergency […]
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I think that forgiveness is talked about more in the Bible than any other topic. Maybe love is talked about more, but then again love and forgiveness are inextricably linked […]
My Easter Sunday sermon is one that I both look forward to writing with great anticipation and that I dread as well. I look forward to writing and preaching it because Easter is the most important day of the year for Christians. It is the day on which we celebrate that event that is the […]
Note: As you listen to or read my sermon today, you may be wondering why I am not preaching about the tragedy of this past week. I beg your forgiveness. I simply have no words left to speak after so many years of the same tragedies happening again and again. May God have mercy on […]
I have heard this story of Jesus healing the blind, lame, and paralyzed man at the pool of Beth-zatha hundreds of times, and every time I hear it what stands out to me is Jesus’ question to the disabled man, “Do you want to be made well?” I think to myself, “Well, duh Jesus, of […]
“Love one another, as I have loved you.” This is a very simple statement. Easy to understand. Easy to grasp. Jesus knows he will be leaving his followers soon. He knows that he will be arrested and killed within a few hours, and he is giving some final instructions to those he has known so […]
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. As this is Good Shepherd Sunday, I found myself thinking a bit more deeply about sheep than I normally do. Actually, normally I don’t think about sheep at all. Sheep are often described as being stupid, but that description really only applies to domestic […]