Sermon Christmas Eve December 24, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-20, Luke 2:1-20 I’ve only been to Bethlehem once, in August 1973, the summer after I graduated from the University of Georgia. My girlfriend and I made the 6 mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and the 4th century Church...
Sermon Advent 4—C December 24, 2017 William Bradbury 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38 The gospel story today is called the Annunciation: the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the young teenage girl, 13-14 years old is read by the Church every March 25th—9 months before December 25. It is the...
Sermon Advent Three-B December 17, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Psalm 126, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, 19-28 Unlike my sister, who is an attorney in Atlanta, I was never tempted to go to Law School. But I am a big fan of courtroom dramas portrayed in fiction and...
Sermon Advent 2—Year B December 10, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8 I am told that George Buttrick, the famous Harvard Divinity school professor of preaching in the mid-20th century, used to say that every preacher, just before entering the pulpit, should think, “I have wonderful...
Sermon Advent One—Year B December 3, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 Today we start a new year in the church, so it is appropriate for the gospel reading to draw our attention away from trivial things, so we can face important things:...
Sermon 24 Pentecost—Proper 28-A-2 November 19, 2017 William Bradbury Zephaniah 1:7,12-18, Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30 I want to go against the flow today. After 2000 years this parable has become so domesticated that it’s little more than a story for our kids: God is the man who gives...
Sermon 23 Pentecost—Proper 27-A November 12, 2017 William Bradbury Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16, Psalm 70, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13 “Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey of faith, come to the holy table.” That’s the invitation given at Holy Eucharist at All Saints’. Considering the parable we just heard we might...
Sermon 21 Pentecost Proper 25-A-2 October 29, 2017 William Bradbury Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18, Psalm 1, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 22:34-46 On October 31, 1517, 500 years ago, a young Roman Catholic monk, named Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, calling for a debate in the Church on the...
Sermon 19 Pentecost—23-A October 15, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 25:1-9, Psalm 23, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14 There are two ways to refuse an invitation. One, which is the most honest, is to just turn it down and don’t go in the first place. A king is throwing a big banquet for...
Sermon 18 Pentecost—22-A October 8, 2017 William Bradbury Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:7-14, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46 Ten years ago Stephanie and I spent a few days with her sister in San Francisco. One afternoon we drove north to Sonoma County in the Russian River Valley to visit a small family...
