Jesus describes what it looks like when the Messiah comes to town…because the Messiah has come to town! The Spirit has already descended upon him, he has received the Father’s anointing, and he will move forward from this sermon on his search-and-rescue mission. The promises of God are being fulfilled and will be fulfilled through Jesus: it is a veritable Jubilee. Continue reading Sermon: The Falcon and the Falconer
The Bible tells a different story where God is the main actor;
Where God does the work of salvation;
Where God transforms us through his grace and mercy.
It’s a story of the God who always loved you.
We are not saved by what we have done.
We are saved by what God has done for us.
We are saved by who God says we are. Continue reading Sermon: Who God Says You Are
The Gospel tells the story of transformation and redemption. And when that transformation happens, the story doesn’t end there. The Gospel was never only about personal salvation. It was always about being Christ’s witnesses as agents of reconciliation and ambassadors of the good news in a world desperately in need of hope, of a future, of God. Continue reading Sermon: Another Story Must Begin
Jesus said that we will be filled with the living water, that eternal life will gush forth in us. This water will leave us fully satisfied, satiated, and quenched. But we are creatures who get parched very easily and we need a steady diet of living water. From what pools are you drinking? Too many of us drink from the pools of popularity, the pursuit of wealth and happiness, alcohol, sex, grumbling, or narcissism. To all who are thirsty: Jesus offers himself, he invites us to be satisfied in him. He will not run dry. Continue reading Little House and Living Water
Three persons are present in creation: God the Father is obvious. The Spirit is there, too, brooding and hovering over the deep like a mother bird over her young. But did you notice the second person? When God said let there be light and it was so, this was the presence of the divine Logos. The Word who would later be the Word made flesh flowing forth from the metaphorical mouth of God as an active agent in creation. Before we ever hear about stars and skies, slithering snakes, and slow-slinking sloths, we see Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a co-eternal relationship overflowing with love into creation. Continue reading Old Friends and Bookends: A Trinity Sunday Sermon
Pentecost is the fulfillment of ancient promises! John even told us in our passage that the Spirit had not yet been sent because Christ had not yet been glorified. In Acts 2, however, with the God being glorified in Christ crucified, raised, and ascended, the prophesied and promised Spirit is shared among Jesus’ followers, filling them to overflowing. Continue reading Is the LORD’s Power Limited?
The ascension means that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, reigning and ruling over all of creation, filling all things, interceding and mediating on our behalf, inviting us to boldly approach the throne of grace, until he comes again in the fullness of time to consummate the kingdom he has already inaugurated. Continue reading For What and Now What?
Read through the lens of Jesus, Abraham’s story is a depiction of the eucharistic life. We may be missing bread and wine, but his journey by stages includes the other elements of the eucharist: praise, worship, sacrifice, covenant, and the unrelenting love of the Faithful One. The altars which Abraham builds are like lighthouses amidst a weary and wanting world stand as a reminder of God’s presence to light the way as a spiritual reference point. The eucharist is given to us as a lighthouse, as well, that we might find safe harbor. The one who is both priest-and-victim is ever with us. God is present in the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and everywhere in between. Continue reading The God Who Provides
Jesus doesn’t become glorious on the mountain. He has always been glorious, from before the beginning of time, from before the foundations of the world. In the Transfiguration, we find the veil being pulled back and Jesus is seen and revealed as he truly is! Continue reading Behold and Beholding the Glory
This isn’t a forgiveness story or reconciliation tale, however. It is a reinstitution, restoration, and redemption story. It is a reprise, a re-commissioning for ministry. As C.S. Lewis so masterfully describes it in The Last Battle of The Chronicles of Narnia: Jesus invites Peter to go further up, further in. Continue reading Further Up, Further In: The Reprise
Porter C. Taylor 