Sermon 13 Pentecost—Proper 18-C-2/ September 8, 2019 William Bradbury Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 1, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33 I remember hearing a talk by a pastor of a church in Atlanta and someone asked him, how he had built a church with 2000 members. He said “Well, when I started, we...

Sermon by William Bradbury Sirach 10:12-18, Psalm 112, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14 “On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.” This is not the “let’s watch the great...

Sermon 10 Pentecost—Proper 15-C-Track 2–August 18, 2019 William Bradbury Jeremiah 23:23-29, Psalm 82, Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Luke 12:49-56 Jesus is right: We know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, even without a weather app on our phones. We say, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailors delight”. But...

Sermon by William Bradbury 8 Pentecost—Proper 13-C/August 4, 2019 Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Psalm 49:1-11, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21 Jesus says to us: “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Really? Is this true? Do we actually live as if we believe it’s true?

Sermon 7 Pentecost—Proper 12-C–July 28, 2019 William Bradbury Genesis 18:20-32, Psalm 138, Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19), Luke 11:1-13 In the 2006 movie “Click”, Adam Sandler goes to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a new remote that will hopefully control, among other things, his TV and ceiling fan. In the back of the store...

  Sermon: 6 Pentecost—Year C—Proper 11 July 21, 2019  +  William Bradbury Genesis 18:1-10a, Psalm 15, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 Luke gives us a recognizable domestic scene. Martha, who owns the house, is getting things ready to lay a spread for Jesus and his disciples. Maybe she starts the preparations with a light heart. Perhaps...

Sermon 5 Pentecost—Proper 10-C  July 14, 2019 William Bradbury Deuteronomy 30:9-14, Psalm 25:1-9, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37 A Bible scholar asks Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus says, what is written in the Bible: What do you read there?” He answers, “You shall love the Lord your God...

Sermon 4 Pentecost—Proper 9—C  July 7, 2019 William Bradbury Isaiah 66:10-14, Psalm 66:1-8, Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 “The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” Jesus is sending out the 70 in two-person advance...

Sermon–William Bradbury 3 Pentecost—Proper 8-C–June 30, 2019 1 Kings 19:15-16,19-21, Psalm 16, Galatians 5:1,13-25, Luke 9:51-62 Filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli died recently at the age of 96–most well-known for his classic 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet”.  Recently I watched again another Zeffirelli film from 1972, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” on the life of Saint...

Sermon 2 Pentecost—Year C–Proper 7 June 23, 2019 + William Bradbury Isaiah 65:1-9, Psalm 22:18-27, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39 For reasons that I hope become clear, I can’t help but think of the 2008 book, The Hunger Games, when I read today’s story of Jesus healing the demoniac. As one reviewer describes the book: “In...