Exodus 17:1-7 [Watch sermon here.] Is God with us? The question burned the Israelites’ parched souls as they lay down their packs. They had hiked in stages through the wilderness. As they trekked in the hot sun, with their belongings on their back, I imagine them wondering, Where will the wilderness take us today? To […]
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John 3:1-17 [Watch sermon here.] Is Nicodemus having a midlife crisis? I wonder. Perhaps Nicodemus is nearing middle age, thinking this is just how life is. Nicodemus has found his place in the in-group. He is part of the Sanhedrin. He has found his daily grind. This is the life! This is the life? This […]
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Exodus 24:12-18 [Watch sermon.] What makes a home? Is it the people? Is it the house? Is it the house renovations? The bells and whistles you see on HGTV? Is home simply a place where you can lay your head? The Hebrew people have been searching for a home. They have not felt at home […]
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Deuteronomy 30:15-20 [Watch sermon here.] Moses says,“I set before you life or death, blessing or curse.Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live.” As Moses speaks these words to the Hebrew people,they are in a liminal space. An in-between space.They are about to cross over the river and enter a new land.And […]
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Mark 1:14-20 [Watch video here.] I found myself listening to the music of Pete Townsend this week,who sings, “When everyone keeps retreatingbut you can’t seem to get enough. Let my love open the door …” He continues,“When everything seems all over,When everyone seems unkind … Let my love open the door;Let my love open the […]
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Micah 6:1-8 [Watch the video here.] The people dwelled in rubble: Buildings in ruins, dreams dashed. Colonizers cast them into a place not their own. They had no home of their own. Bereft and abandoned as the powerful seized their houses and their fields. The people are smarting. We will take God to court! Because […]
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Matthew 3:13-17 [Watch sermon here.] Poet Jean Valentine writes: My words to you are the stitches in a scarfI don’t want to finish maybe it will come to be a blanketor a net to hold you here love not gone anywhere. I am drawn in by Valentine’s first lines: My words to you are the […]
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Matthew 1:18-25 [Watch sermon here.] “Let the bells jingle” by Helen Jesty Let the bells jingle but make time for the tears to fall. Eat, drink and be merry but do not go hungry in that inner place. Rest, reflect and remember. Be true to yourself. Many of us can’t play happy families at this […]
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Matthew 11:2-11 [Watch sermon here.] John the Baptist is looking for that which is most alive.Urgently, John sends a messenger to Jesus to inquire,“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” John is asking,“Has God come?Has the kindom come as enfleshed by the ministry of Jesus?” Jesus reports back […]
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Psalm 122 & Isaiah 2:1-5 [Watch sermon here.] How I rejoiced when they said to me:“Let us go to the house of God!” Let’s go! Call your friends and family!What’s holding us back?It’s like Christmas!It is Christmas! Let’s go! The greatest gift awaits us …! And now, after journeying,our feet are standing within your gates, […]
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The First Baptist Church in Essex 