Sermons from 2025
Mind the Gap
This Sunday we get a lesser known and troubling parable. I’m looking forward to digging into it with you all. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 16:19-31 19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man…
The Samaritan Woman at the Well
Hello, Beloved of PPUMC! This Sunday, I am on vacation. UCC Pastor Oby Ballinger will be filling in, and I think you’ll find him delightful and be interested in the work he is doing. Because of the work he’s doing, we will be taking a little detour from Luke. Though things will certainly connect as two Sundays ago we looked at the context of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and this week Oby will dive into the story from…
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:1-2,11-32 (NRSVUE) 15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all…
Selfless Love
This Sunday we get kind of an odd collection of scripture passages, where in, as one person said in our Wednesday Bible study, Jesus seems “exasperated”. We’ll see how and if I pull this thing together! -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:1-9, 31-35 13 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners…
Fearless Love
This week we are looking at a very familiar, though I think misunderstood, story: It’s the Parable of the Good Samaritan. There’s a lot going on in it, and I’m excited to unpack it with you all. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:25-37 25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love…
What Are You Looking At?
This is a BIG Sunday in our Journey through Luke. It is Transfiguration Sunday, which is the last Sunday before Lent starts! Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, but as already communicated we will not hold an Ash Wednesday service this year. With that in mind, we are going to use the Ash Wednesday text this Sunday, and have a sort of “Ash Sunday”. Fear not, there will not be ash on your foreheads, but we will incorporate ashes into Communion.…
He Spoke Up
This week we get a story from the Gospel of Luke that is so rich and full that it probably warrants an entire series. It is about love and forgiveness and devotion and power and so much more. I’m looking forward to unpacking with y’all. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:36-50 (NRSVUE) 36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and when he went into the Pharisee’s house he reclined to dine. 37 And a woman in the city who was a…
Mind Blown
This Sunday we continue in the Gospel of Luke, with a late Easter bringing more Sundays than usual between Christmas and Easter, we get a story new to the Narrative Lectionary. Remember John the Baptist? He’s back! Is Jesus really who we think is? Who our doctrine says? Who we expected him to be? Are we sure about him? If you ever wonder these things, fear not, you’re in good company. John the Baptist did too, and we’ll take a…
The Humanity
For the past four years I have had breakfast nearly every Friday with my friend and retired colleague Dan Schneider-Bryan. When we were in the Hebrew Bible all last fall, he’d ask me while chomping down his scrambled eggs and sausage, and with tongue firmly planted in cheek, “So… who dies this week?” Now that we’re in the Gospel of Luke, the question has softened a bit, and is “So… who does Jesus tick off this week?” Well, how about…
Raise the Bar
So here’s what. I don’t like rules. Never have. I often find them limiting and even suffocating. I also come from an antiestablishment breed. But at the same time, without, we perish. We have chaos and anarchy. I’m not a big fan of that either. So… quick story: In one of my theatrical directing classes in college, we had to tell a story of some kind with no dialogue. The point being that it was required to stage the story…
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