A Faith Cultivation Message: reminding and a reaffirming us of God’s complete command over all creation

Collect: Proper 7[I]

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and t he Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 . . . David can conquer Goliath only by relying on his faith in God

Psalm 9:9-20 . . . Great, Good News

Job 38:1-11;  . . . the majesty of God as the Creator and Ruler of the world

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 . . . The Mystery of God’s Limitless Mercy

2 Corinthians 6:1-13 . . . Paul commends the ministry of reconciliation to all Christians

Mark 4:35-41 . . . Jesus stills a storm at sea, revealing that he shares God’s power over creation.

Popular speaker, author, and retreat leader, Mary Ann McKibben Dana, preaches a sermon called “Other Boats Were with Him,” from Mark 4:35-41. “We are all out there navigating the stormy waters together. Local churches, each in a particular place, with a particular personality and mission and identity, but together a little fleet of sea vessels. What that means is that we aren’t really strangers. We are connected to one another through Christ.”

And one of Michell Curry’s talk on Evangelism  

Not a sermon, just a talk.  I’ll post his sermon on the subject next week, or you can find it yourself.

Behold the seed (the word), the harvest (the 2nd coming) and hope (faith cultivation); how are we doing with that ?

Collect: Proper 6

 Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love,  that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion: for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 . . . Samuel sees beyond outward appearances to choose the least likely son of Jesse to anoint as king

Psalm 20; . . . Prayer on the day of triumph

or

 Ezekiel 17:22-24 . . . Ezekiel  gives the Israelites hope that one day God will restore their strength.

Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14 . . . Wisdom’s vision

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17; . . . Paul reminds his Corinthian communities that our eternal dwelling is not found here on earth but is with the Lord

Mark 4:26-34 . . . Jesus uses two parables to describe how God’s dynamic presence—the kingdom—grows in our lives.

Dr. Jim Somerville, Pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church and Co-Founder of A Sermon for Every Sunday, preaches a sermon from Mark 4:26-34 called, “The Mysterious Growth of the Mustard Seed Kingdom.”  “Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed and then takes a nap,” Somerville says.  “I think he means the growth of the Kingdom is a mystery.  Like the farmer there is nothing we can do to make it grow and like the farmer we might as well admit that we don’t know how it works.  I wish some of the so-called church growth experts would read this parable.”

 An 18-minute interview with the Episcopal News Service, Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry speaks about his priorities for leadership and administration, the role of the church in engaging God’s mission in the world, the state of race relations in the U.S., the importance of Anglican Communion partnerships, and his commitment to what he calls the Jesus Movement, to go out into the world “to bear witness to the good news of Jesus.”

Exploring the pervading influence of sinfulness that makes humans stand in resistance and opposition to God

Collect: Proper 5

O God, from good all things proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15) . . .  we begin a series of readings describing the development of kingship in Israel

Psalm 138  . . . An Invocation of the Divine Presence

Genesis 3:8-15 . . . we learn the meaning of human sinfulness from the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.

Psalm 130   . . . The call For Healing

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 . . .  Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to trust in the eternal power of God.

Mark 3:20-35 . . . when his opponents declare that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul, Jesus warns them of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 Sin and Forgiveness, by Joshua Gyson, Pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church, Lutz, Florida

The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry ’78 M.Div., Presiding Bishop-Elect of the Episcopal Church, delivers the sermon for morning worship at Yale Divinity School’s Convocation & Reunions 2015: “Love:”   . . .  

“There is a balm in Gilead to make the sin sick whole” version ?

The centrality of God in our lives

Proper 4[i]

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) . . .  As a child, Samuel  hears the call of God.

Psalm 139:1-5,12-17 . . . The psalmist reminds God’s people of God’s saving acts in history.

2 Corinthians 4:5-12 . . . Paul describes his ministry as God’s gift, manifested through Paul’s sufferings.

Mark 2:23-3:6 , , , Jesus asserts himself as Lord even of God’s sabbath.

Father Michael Renninger, Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia,  sermon is  based on the readings from Psalm 139; 1 Samuel 3:1-10: and Mark 2:23-3:6 and begins with the words, “Jimmy, I love you.”

And a bonus: The second day of the Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) was a Sunday morning celebration of the Holy Eucharist with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry delivering the sermon. It was held Nov. 20 at the Hartford Convention Center with more than 1600 attending: “Look to the Rock”

The mystery of the Trinity

Collect: First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday[i]

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory, of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee that thou wouldest keep us steadfast in this faith and worship and bring us at last to see thee in thy one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

[i] Today’s readings invite us to experience . .  In today’s gospel,

Isaiah 6:1-8 . . . Isaiah responds to the invitation to speak for God, the Holy One.

Psalm 29  . . . The creative power of God expressed as word of voice

or

Song of Three Young Men  . . . A Song of Praise

Romans 8:12-17 . . . Paul explains that the Holy Spirit leads us to the Father, who adopts us as children and thus makes us “joint heirs with Christ.”

John 3:1-17 . . . Jesus explains to Nicodemus that being born of the Spirit, with faith in the Son, results in eternal life with God the Father.

Dr. Jim Somerville, Pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church and Co-Founder of A Sermon for Every Sunday, preaches a sermon for Trinity Sunday called “Baptipresbycostal,” in which he traces the trinitarian influences of his Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and Baptist upbringing

or

A written sermon on the  gospel called “The Three Persons of the Trinity” given to folks in the Anglican Parish of South Queens in the Diocese of NS and PEI in the Anglican Church of Canada . A good perspective.

or

The Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, Senior Minister of the Riverside Church in New York City, preaches on the most-memorized verse in the Bible, John 3:16, one that was such a familiar part of her youth and childhood she feels it deserves a closer look: “Cross or Cliché.”