A sermon for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Year CLuke 20:27-38 I’m not surprised anymore.  The shock has worn off.  I dropped by one of the home center stores in Christiansburg this past week for a quick purchase.  I walked around a corner and found myself in a Christmas wonderland. Long gone are the days of my childhood when no self-respecting retailer would have put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving.  In 1937 in an effort to help the struggling economy by lengthening the Christmas shopping season, then president, Franklin Roosevelt, moved the observance of Thanksgiving up one week.  The … Continue reading The God of the Living

A sermon for the 23rd Sunday after PentecostLuke 19:1-10 Our days with Luke are drawing to a close.  Just a few more weeks and we will be in Advent and find ourselves once again with Matthew as our traveling guide through the Gospels.   But before we leave Luke, there are a few more stories and even a difficult saying of Jesus to be heard. This morning we hear this familiar story of Zacchaeus, the wee little man.  This is one of the stories from the life and ministry of Jesus that seems to resonate with adults and children alike.  I … Continue reading Zacchaeus — the Unlikely Role-Model