Ascension Written Sermons

Thanksgiving Day 2012 Persistence in Faith Bob Wadley Good morning and happy Thanksgiving. It's good to see all of you here this early for a holiday morning. Actually, its not really that early; the Brotherhood of St. Andrew met at 7:00 this morning, as we do every Thursday. We enjoyed pancakes, bacon, coffee and orange juice, and we opened the meeting with the General Thanksgiving found on page 836 in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins, “Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.” Think about that. Do we ever pause and truly comprehend all that God has done for us: the splendor of creation, the beauty of this world, the wonder of life, the mystery of love, family, friends and ...

 The Rev. Robert P. Travis Pentecost 25 th Sunday Sermon – 8:00am and 10:30am Church of the Ascension, Knoxville TN RCL Proper 28 Year B 11/18/2012 Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 1:4-20, Psalm 16, Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25, Mark 13:1-8 Sermon Text: After what I’ve been seeing in the news this week, about the fighting in Gaza and Jerusalem, I sure am glad that our pilgrims made it back safely. It is an alarming situation over there. And, well, we made it through another big election. And I bet all of you are glad that it's over, regardless of whether you felt your side won or lost. Most of the run up to it was full of fear, that was promoted by both sides. That was alarming too. There were of course, as there always are, Christians taking all parts of the political spectrum. There was one statement made by a Christian, that I believe Christians on both sides agreed with. The choice of a politician or a political party is not where our salvation lies. Or as one pers...

We Are All in This Together The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess 24 th Sunday After Pentecost 11/11/12. The Episcopal Church of the Ascension I. Introduction. There are no coincidences . This morning’s Gospel reading from Mark presents us with a very clear teaching by Jesus about giving, pride, and humility. This passage about the widow’s mite, through no design of our own, has coincided with the ingathering of our pledges for 2013. Our God is a God of immediacy – speaking to us in the here and now about our stewardship campaign and about our giving decisions. Jesus attached great importance to the topic of giving, and I believe that it is safe to assume that God is desiring to talk with us this morning, not only about what amount we give, but also about the attitudes and motivations associated with our giving. II. The Widow’s Faithfulness. The most immediately apparent part of Christ’s message in today’s Gospel is his lifting up of the widow’s faithful...

November 4, 2012, The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost The Rev. Nancy P. Acree It has been almost twelve years since I stood in this place and my heart is full to be standing here today.  Even tho I was quite relieved to find God lives in Ga as well as Tn.,, this still feels like home to me and I’m mighty glad to have come home.  I don’t remember much about that last day except that I told you about the time my slip fell off while I was serving communion.  If that had anything to do with the gospel I surely don’t know what at this point.  But, I do remember so much, grieving together, laughing together, all with such love.  I thank you for those memories. There is a quote from Frederich Buechner that seems most appropriate as we observe All Saints Day.   He wrote WHEN YOU REMEMBER ME IT IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED SOMETHING OF WHO I AM WITH YOU, THAT I HAVE LEFT SOME MARK OF WHO I AM ON WHO YOU ARE.  IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN SUMMON ME B...