Sermons

“Deeds That We Did Not Expect”  A Sermon on Isaiah 64:1-9 for the 1st Sunday of Advent, Year B; preached November 30, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister The people could remember those days when had God acted. Nothing short of the very hand of God seemed to have reached down—a presence so…

“You Did It To Me” A Sermon on Matthew 25:31-46 for Christ the King: the Last Sunday in Ord. Time, Year A; Preached November 23, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister I don’t particularly care for this morning’s gospel reading, to be honest. Perhaps an odd confession for a preacher to begin a…

“God’s Investment Policies Aren’t for the Risk-Averse” A Sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A; preached November 16, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister “If we believe in the resurrection, why do we bury our gifts?”[1] That’s a question that rose to the surface for preacher and…

“Oh, those Foolish Bridesmaids” A Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Preached November 9, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister We here in Connecticut have gotten pretty used to the drill of things to do in the run-up to a major storm. It’s been just shy…

“Just Which Things Aren’t God’s?”  A Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22 for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Preached by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister, on October 19, 2014[1] Now, perhaps I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m going to guess that some of you might just have noticed that we…

“Pity Party or Plenty Party?” A Sermon on Matthew 22:1-14 for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A preached by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister, on October 12, 2014 Caesar Augustus, the emperor of the Roman Empire after Julius Caesar, back in the same era when Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus had a…

“Debt Forgiveness is Not Just for Student Loans” A Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35 for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A preached by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister, on September 14, 2014 It is interesting, when you think about it, how reasonable Peter’s question to Jesus sounds to most of us. “Lord, if…

“Life Together’s Not Easy… Even With Your Own Bathroom” A Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20 for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Preached September 7, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, senior minister Most of you remember the hit sitcom series The Cosby Show. I grew up watching it as a kid, as I…

“Cross Talk” A Sermon on Matthew 16:21-28 for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Preached August 31, 2014, by the Revs. Matthew Emery & Nancy McLaren On August 31st, our pastors—the Rev. Matthew Emery, senior minister, and the Rev. Nancy McLaren—preached on Matthew 16:21-28 by way of a dialogue sermon.  Being a conversational…

“Better than Rock Band™… no Xbox® Required” A Sermon on Matthew 16:13-20 for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Preached August 24, 2014, by the Rev. Matthew Emery, Senior Minister I imagine many of you have at least heard of the hit video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Some of us, I’m…