Sermon: "People Over Principles", John 4:46-54 (February 8, 2026)

Today’s passage isn’t one that we encounter very often in the context of worship. It’s not in the Revised Common Lectionary at all, and even here in the Narrative Lectionary, it’s usually lumped together with the healing of a different, paralyzed man - a much better-known miracle that IS in the Revised Common Lectionary and usually gets all the attention. In fact, I had a lot of trouble finding ANY sources or commentaries that could provide insight into this story from the end of John 4. Which I think is unfair: why should this man and his son be neglected and forgotten? Sure, as a royal official, he was a Gentile at best and an instrument of Roman oppression at worst - either way, certainly not a member of Jesus’ community - but he was facing one of the most universal, human experiences there is: fear for the life of a loved one.

Liturgy: Jesus Heals, John 4:46-54 (February 8, 2026)

          *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know that you have either used or adapted it.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #797, “We Cannot Measure How You Heal”

Hymn GTG #769, “For Everyone Born” [vv. 1-3, 5]

Hymn GTG #761, “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service”

Sermon: "Unworthy", Luke 7:1-17 (February 9, 2025)

Ah, yes; yet another miraculous healing from Jesus. To be honest, Jesus does so much healing in the gospels that the stories all seem to blend together a bit, don’t they? I don’t know about you, but I’m guilty of occasionally assuming that all these accounts serve the same narrative purpose: to demonstrate Jesus’ power and explain how his following grew so quickly. It makes for faster reading if you can gloss over the details and just throw the story into that corner of your brain where you keep a vague awareness of all the gospel’s other healings.

Liturgy: Healing the Centurion's Servant, Luke 7:1-17 (February 9, 2025)

*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #386, “Come, Worship God”
Hymn GTG #782, “Hear My Prayer, O God”
Hymn GTG #744, “Arise, Your Light is Come”

Sermon: “Smaller Miracles”, Acts 3:1-10 (April 14, 2024)

This is a pretty miraculous story, isn’t it? If I were to ask you what makes it miraculous, what’s the first thing you think of? ...The healing, right? This is the very first time we see the disciples do something seemingly impossible in Christ’s name; it’s the first time they prove themselves to be anything other than a bunch of ordinary dudes who happen to have an extraordinary best friend. This is the moment that makes us think the apostles are somehow fundamentally different from us – there’s certainly no reason to believe that any of US are capable of such things. Either they’re somehow special, or there was something in the first-century water. This appears to be a great story for celebrating the disciples’ ministry, but there doesn’t seem to be much in it that we can learn from.

Sermon: "What Jairus Learned," Mark 5:21-43 (January 28, 2024)

Today’s scripture reading is a long one, but it’s difficult to separate the one healing account from the other. Mark has given us a story sandwich, with two accounts of miraculous healings woven together into a single unit. Most Bible translations title this passage something like, “Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman,” or “Jairus’ Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Cloak”. Since most people naturally assume that our focus should be on the objects of Jesus’ miracles, it makes this passage difficult to summarize in a few words. It also raises the ire of many a feminist biblical scholar: why doesn’t Mark bother to name these two women at the center of this story? As a feminist myself, as well as a woman in ministry, I can appreciate this frustration, born out of centuries of women being relegated to the background of both history and religion.

Liturgy: Fourth Sunday After Epiphany, Mark 5:21-43 (January 28, 2024)

  *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns:

Hymn GTG #386, “Come, Worship God”
Hymn GTG #466, “Come and Fill Our Hearts”
Hymn GTG #27, “Sacred the Body”

Sermon: "Sensing the Sacred: The Power of Touch", John 9:1-17 (March 22, 2020)

(This is the fifth sermon in our Lenten series, "Sensing the Sacred". 

The others can be found here, here, here, and here.)

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Since I assume y’all are at home and either properly disinfecting your surroundings or at least comfortable with your own family’s germs, go ahead and touch something that’s next to you. If there’s someone watching worship with you, touch them (with their permission), or touch your own hand. Take a moment and reflect on what these sensations make you think or feel. If you touched your warm cup of coffee, did that sensation fill you with feelings of comfort or thoughts of routine? If you touched a family member or pet, did that that sensation fill you with feelings of love and reassurance or thoughts of gratitude? If you touched your own hand, did that sensation make you feel grounded, or fill you with thoughts about who you are? Really reflect for a minute…how do these sensations affect you? When you stop to think about it, the impact that a simple touch can have on our thoughts and feelings is pretty incredible.