Sermons

Sermons Hosted at HolyCrossHilo.com

  • Sermon: The Mountain
    February 15, 2026 Exodus 24:12-18Matthew 17:1-9 In his documentary on the Darkness of the Renaissance, British art critic Waldemar Januszczak said, “Mountains have a powerful effect on people. Mountains cloud your judgment. They heighten your emotions and intoxicate you.” He’s right. The vistas from mountains – and the views of mountains – go right to … Continue reading Sermon: The Mountain
  • Sermon: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
    February 8, 2026 Isaiah 58:1-12Matthew 5:13-20 In her blog, preaching Professor Alyce M. McKenzie tells a story about a skit she and some students presented one year, which featured her giving feedback to Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount as if he were a member of her preaching class. In the skit, she said, … Continue reading Sermon: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
  • Sermon: Mountaintop Wisdom
    February 1, 2026 Micah 6:1-8Matthew 5:1-12 “Plead your case before the mountains,” wrote Micah some 750 years before Jesus was born, “and let the hills hear your voice.” He wrote about an imagined court in which God and God’s people each tried to make the case that they had kept the covenant, and that the … Continue reading Sermon: Mountaintop Wisdom
  • Sermon: Whose People Are We?
    January 25, 2026 Isaiah 9:1-4Matthew 4:12-23 About 750 years or so before Herod arrested John the Baptist and Jesus returned to the region of his childhood, the Assyrian Empire attacked the Jewish nations of Israel and Judah. Judah, where Isaiah lived in the capital of Jerusalem, survived the invasion because an outbreak of infectious disease … Continue reading Sermon: Whose People Are We?
  • Sermon: The Invitation
    January 18, 2026 Isaiah 49:1-7John 1:29-42 Last week I got very excited because the Gospel text for last week included Jesus’ very first words in the Gospel of Matthew. First impressions, you know, make a big difference. I’m sure Matthew knew that as well. Which made Jesus’ first words in the Gospel somewhat, maybe not … Continue reading Sermon: The Invitation
  • Sermon: Without Pride or Privilege
    January 11, 2026 Isaiah 42:1-9Matthew 3:13-17 Let’s face it, leaders of religious movements are often peculiar. Moses liked to wander off up mountains leaving everybody unsettled. Elijah wore funny clothes and irritated the monarchs. Monarch-irritating turned out to be a characteristic of many of the “writing prophets,” including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Jeremiah’s reputation … Continue reading Sermon: Without Pride or Privilege
  • Sermon: A Little Wisdom; A Lot of Wisdom
    January 4, 2026 Jeremiah 31:7-14John 1:1-18 It’s still Christmas. It really is twelve days long in the Church calendar, and we’re on day eleven, so you can thank your lucky stars that you’re not likely to receive eleven pipers piping or eleven missionaries today. On this eleventh day of Christmas, if we’re thinking about the … Continue reading Sermon: A Little Wisdom; A Lot of Wisdom
  • Sermon: What Did You Go Out to See?
    December 14, 2025 Luke 1:46-55Matthew 11:2-11 “What did you go out to see?” Jesus asked the crowds, referring to the ministry of John the Baptist. “A reed shaken by the wind?” I rather like that image, even though I suspect, along with Biblical scholars, that I don’t really understand it. It’s probably a first century … Continue reading Sermon: What Did You Go Out to See?
  • Sermon: Towards Peace
    December 7, 2025 Isaiah 11:1-10Matthew 3:1-12 It’s a vision of improbable things. Wolves living peaceably with lambs, leopards and kids, calves with lions, cows with bears. They’re all grazing, which you’d think wouldn’t work for the wolves, leopards, lions, and bears. They don’t have the right kind of teeth. Through them wander these little children … Continue reading Sermon: Towards Peace
  • Sermon: Hope Worth Hoping For
    November 30, 2025 Isaiah 2:1-5Romans 13:11-14 There’s an old joke that tells of a man who saw another man beating his head against a wall. “Is something wrong?” he asked that man. “Oh, nothing’s wrong,” said the second man, but he winced as he hit his head against the wall again. “Then why are you … Continue reading Sermon: Hope Worth Hoping For

Sermons Hosted at Ordained Geek