Ascension Written Sermons

The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost - Proper 21 Matthew 21:23-32 Still Time to Change “ And even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.” I don’t know if this will be a shared experience or not, but one of the most anticipated and important events for everyone during my high school years was not the prom, or the senior prank, but it was the opportunity to select a quotation that would go under each person’s name in their senior year book. It was choosing the quote that would be eternally tied to your name in the high school year book which would of course undoubtedly sit as a permanent and unmovable fixture on the book shelves of every member of your graduating class forever. Well, ok, so probably not, but still, you get the idea. It was a big deal. For some reason, as I was preparing for this sermon, the quotation that I selected my Senior year was brought back to mind when I read this morning's Gospel. “Yes, there are two paths that you can g...

The Rev. Robert P. Travis Pentecost 20A Sunday Sermon 8 and 10:30am Service, Church of the Ascension, Knoxville TN 9/18/2011 Scripture Text: Jonah 3:10-4:11, Psalm 145:1-8, Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16 Sermon Text: As you may know, I have two daughters, one in First Grade and one in Kindergarten. Do you know how they would respond to this gospel passage? “ That's not fair!” We hear that phrase more than other phrases in our home. In fact, we hear it every day, that's how I know. It is hard to be the arbiter of fairness, as any parent will know. But it is certainly not just children who deal with this. I was going grocery shopping at 9pm, just to pick up a few things. Usually I shop over near where we live, by Pelissippi and Northshore. But this time I was in Bearden, so I went to the Bearden Kroger. Apparently 9pm is the hopping time at that store, I was kind of surprised when I went in and it was mobbed. I wanted to get home af...

The Rev. Amy Hodges Morehous Proper 18, Year A Church of the Ascension September 4, 2011 Ezekiel 33:1-11 Psalm 119:33-40 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” So, I have a list, and I’d like to see the following people after church....” We laugh, but that’s one of our worst fears, isn’t it? That someone is going to point at us, to point out our shortcomings, and laugh. I think, most of the time, we’re all too aware these days of the places where we fall short. We’re constantly surrounded by advertising that makes sure that we spend a large part of our lives feeling inadequate. We’re judging by external appearances, and according to what I see on TV, we’re not pretty enough, not young enough, not skinny enough. Our teeth always could be whiter, our stomach flatter, our clothes more stylish. Thanks to magazines and television, we know our houses don’t quite measure up, either. So, we a...