Fix Our Hearts
March 29, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
5th Sunday in Lent – Year A
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The Collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Sermon Transcript:
Hi everyone. I hope you’re doing well. And more than that, I hope you’re being safe. As we are embarking on the challenges that come with a brand new virus that no one has an immunity for, we have to take extra precautions. And one of those is for us to suspend worship together for a time. So while we aren’t gathering in person, I’m thankful we have ways to gather virtually. Read the rest of this entry »
Social Distancing: A Means but Not the Dream
March 15, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
3rd Sunday in Lent – Year A
John 4:5-42
(gospel text provided below)
Not part of my vocabulary just five days ago, I’ve now used the phrase social distancing at least a dozen times in the past twenty-four hours. In response to concerns about the spread of the new COVID-19 virus, we’re embracing the call to limit in-person social interaction in the hope of “flattening the curve” (another newly adopted term) of the virus’s reach. 
And while social distancing may be new to our vernacular, its existence is as old as time. Perhaps not so much the mitigating risk kind we’re enacting today, but the kind that results when we exclude others because of who they are, what they’ve done, or how they live.
The story told in John’s gospel about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman demonstrates social distancing on multiple levels. Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus our Life Preserver
March 8, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
2nd Sunday in Lent
John 3:1-17; Psalm 121
Listen here:
Sermon Transcript
“Indeed, God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
God Is With Us
December 22, 2019
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
4th Sunday of Advent, Year A
Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:10-16
Listen here:
Sources:
Rice, Gene. 1977. “Interpretation of Isaiah 7:15-17.” Journal of Biblical Literature 96 (3): 363. ATLA0000762861
Wegner, Paul D. 2011. “How Many Virgin Births Are in the Bible? (Isaiah 7:14): A Prophetic Pattern Approach.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54 (3): 467. ATLA0001860110
Brown, C. R. 1890. “Exegesis of Isaiah VII. 10-17.” Journal of Biblical Literature 9 (1): 123.
Troxel, Ronald L. 2003. “Isaiah 7,14-16 through the Eyes of the Septuagint.”
Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 79 (1): 1–22. ATLA0001371089
Wegner. 472-473.
Klein, Ralph W. 2001. “Isaiah for Advent.” Currents in Theology and Mission 28 (6): 566. ATLA0001407636
Tilson, Everett. 1980. “Homiletical Resources: Exegesis of Isaiah Passages for Advent.” Quarterly Review 1 (1): 8–35. ATLA0000786856
