Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Christ the King SundayEzekiel 34:11-24, Matthew 25:31-46 We’ve read two bible texts this morning that share many of the same themes. On of them is quite familiar and has impacted the broader culture outside the church. The other is fairly obscure. Both are written in the wake of tragedy. … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Sunday Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 In the last few years, many of us have learned a new word: “woke.” It’s gained popularity and usage through the power of the Black Lives Matter movement. As it is commonly used today, to be woke means to be enlightened. According … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 27A1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 In the section of the first letter to the Thessalonians that Janet read for us this morning, the three authors—the apostle Paul and his associates, Silas and Timothy—respond directly to a specific concern of the Christians in Thessalonica. And it … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King All Saints SundayMatthew 5:1-12 I know that I am supposed to be in the middle of sermon series on First Thessalonians, but I couldn’t find much to say about the passage assigned for this week. So we’re taking a quick break from Paul’s first letter and turning instead to … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25A1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 In this second week of our exploration of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we come to its second chapter. This is the oldest book in the New Testament, the earliest of Paul’s surviving letters. We noted last week that … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 24A1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Starting today, I’m preaching a five-part series on the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. We choose our scriptures for Sunday mornings using something called the Revised Common Lectionary. It’s a cycle of assigned readings that repeat every three … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Nineteenth Sunday after PentecostExodus 32:1-14 Last week, we considered the ten commandments, as presented in Exodus 20. This week, we will explore what happens twelve chapters later in Exodus 32. What happened in between? Well, you might remember that at the end of last week’s passage, the people … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22AExodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 This text from the second book of the Torah, the book of Exodus, describes a key moment in the formation of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. God, acting through Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, has just liberated the … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Seventeenth Sunday after PentecostPhilippians 2:1-13 Early Christian communities in the first century have two significant problems. The first is that they have quite a lot of internal division and disagreement. This is a new religious movement, made up of people from all over the known world, people from … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 20AMatthew 20:1-16 IT’S ABSOLUTELY NOT FAIR. No self-respecting American worker would stand for it. We’d go straight to the boss and complain. We’d file a union grievance. We might even sue the company or lead a walk-out: equal pay for equal work. It … [Read more…]