Kenosis

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…]

The Usual Daily Wage

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…]

Love One Another

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18ARomans 13:8-14 In the United Methodist tradition we have something called the Historic Examination. These are the questions that John Wesley used to ask of his traveling preachers, and they have been ask of those who are about to be ordained from the … [Read more…]

Get Behind Me

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Thirteenth Sunday after PentecostMatthew 16:21-28 Today’s sermon is about Rocky. No, it’s not about the boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. It’s about the apostle Peter. Peter isn’t his given name though. You might remember, when Jesus called him, his name was Simon. But Jesus gave him a nickname. … [Read more…]

Crumbs from Your Table

Rev Dr. David D. M. King The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15AMatthew 15:21-28 I have always found the story from Matthew today to be one of the most disturbing in the Gospels. The version in Mark is about Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman. Here in Matthew it is the story of Jesus and the … [Read more…]

Walking on the Sea

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 14AMatthew 14:22-33 There certainly is a lot of power on display in the gospel lesson today. Jesus performs all sorts of impressive miracles. But we’re likely to miss quite a lot of the significance if we just focus on the power and the … [Read more…]

Wrestling Jacob

by Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 13AGenesis 32:22-31 The passage that we have from the Book of Genesis this morning is such a good story.  There are some bible passages that are good because they contain really good doctrine, really good theology. There are some bible passages that … [Read more…]

Who Will Separate Us?

Rev. Dr. David D. M. KingThe Eighth Sunday after PentecostRomans 8:26-39 This text from Romans today is a favorite of preachers. There’s a lot of good material in those few verses. I once heard the famed preacher Fred Craddock preach a forty-five minute sermon on just one sentence from this passage: we do not know … [Read more…]

Let Both Grow Together

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Seven Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11AMatthew 13:24-30, 36-43 This morning we have another parable about planting seeds. Last week we heard Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Sower. A farmer plants seeds. As they are thrown out, some seed lands on a path, some seed lands in … [Read more…]