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Showing posts from November, 2011
Advent 1 Mark 13:24-37 Watching For God “ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” Not long ago, while sitting with one of our beloved members who had fallen ill, God gave me a life changing experience, an experience that I am deeply grateful for, and an experience that I will not soon forget. You see, I went to see this parishioner as other members had conveyed concerns to our clergy, and though the medical staff at her facility explained to me that they had no reason to be concerned for her health, during that visit I had a very strange but clear feeling that something was wrong. As I sat with our Sister in Christ, something told me to say goodbye. Something told me that it was time. So, I sat down, I grabbed her hand, and I began to pray silently. Then something completely unexpected happened. As I sat praying with our beloved Sister, my concentration was suddenly broken. It was broken by the presence of two or three people who had just entered the

All We Have to Decide. . .

The Rev. Robert P. Travis 2 2nd Sunday After Pentecost Sermon – 8:00 and 10:30am Church of the Ascension, Knoxville TN RCL Proper 28 Year A 11 /1 3 /201 Text: Zephaniah 1:7,12-18, Psalm 90:1-8,12, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30 Sermon Text: I’m starting today with the assumption, that since we’re going to come up and present our pledges for the support of this community in 2012, in just a few minutes, you’ve already done your praying and have already carefully prepared your pledge, and filled out your pledge card. So while this gospel passage lends itself very well to financial stewardship, given that it’s all about money, you might be pleased to know that I am not going to talk about money today. But just in case one of you is sitting out there thinking “ You know, I wish Fr. Rob would just tell me what to do with this card,” here’s a little help, for every hundred thousand dollars you earn in a year, put $10,000 on the ca