The Kingdom of Heaven is at HandEpiphany 4Rev. Doug FloydMatthew 5:1-12 Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and begins to teach. He fulfills the pattern we see in Moses who goes up a mountain and brings down teaching from YHWH. When Moses goes up the mountain, there are “thunders and lightnings, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a loud trumpet…
A circle of friends on pilgrimage for the love of God
A circle of friends on pilgrimage for the love of God
Sermons from January 2023
Epiphany 3 – Follow MeRev. Dr. Les MartinAmos 1:1-11, Psalm 139:1-13, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Matthew 4:12-22 I grew up here over in Oak Ridge and was ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal church in Morristown, Tennessee in 1994. For the last 10 years I’ve been living in Nigeria and that’s one reason it’s nice to say I’m just less because protocol…
Epiphany 2 2023Rev. Doug FloydExodus 12:21–28, Psalm 40, 1 Corinthians 1:1–9, John 1:29–4 Corinth is a town on the rise. People from all across the empire have come to work, trade, make money, and climb to a higher status. Corinth is a city on the move. When Paul proclaims the gospel there, people readily respond and soon, a burgeoning church is also…
Sunday After Epiphany 2023Baptism of Our LordRev. Doug FloydIsaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 89, Acts 10:34-38, Matthew 3:13-17 In the book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” Thomas C. Foster teaches readers clues to look for when reading a novel. I often assign this to High School students first learning to interpret literature. He says that great literature often alludes to other great…
Feast of the Holy NameChristmas 2Rev. Doug FloydExodus 34:1-9, Psalm 8, Romans 1:1-7, Luke 2:15-21 Today the church celebrates the eighth day after the birth of Jesus. On this day, Mary and Joseph took the baby to the Temple for circumcision and to officially name Him Jesus. We pause and reflect on the sacred name of Jesus. We read and sing the…
Rev. Doug Floyd Christmas Sermon 2022Rev. Doug FloydJohn 1:1-18 We gather today to celebrate the wondrous birth of Jesus. With all our Christmas music, Christmas parties, and Christmas movies, it might be easy to overlook the true Christmas miracle: the birth of Jesus. In his birth, we behold the true and final King of Israel. At the same time, we behold the…
Rev. Doug Floyd Christmas Eve 2022Rev. Doug FloydLuke 2:1-38 Caesar Augustus decrees that all the world should be registered. “All the world” As “all the world travels” to their own towns, Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, and she gives birth to a son and wraps him in swaddling cloths and lays him in a manger. This little baby in a tiny…
We must be open to God’s powerful, unexpected work all around us, in the voice and words of a child, in a handshake, smile, or hug, in a random act of kindness, in a phone call, in the sending of a card or note, and the list goes on and on.