Ascension Written Sermons

Jesus is a Marxist: Stewardship Rob Gieselmann, 2017 1. Thinking Differently . I want to get you thinking differently about a few of our religious concepts.   a. The first of these concepts is the Kingdom of God , also known as the kingdom of heaven . Most of us think of the kingdom of heaven as a geographical place - up there, out there, behind some curtain or veil. Often, Christians think that you enter God’s kingdom after death, either through baptism or in some traditions that notion of getting saved. But according to Jesus, the kingdom of God is not a geographic place – rather, it is located within you. He reiterates this concept in The Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come … on earth. The Kingdom is, as Brett says, right here. Already here, you’re already part of it. b. By extension, this first concept leads to its corollary: God likewise is not external to you . God lives, right here . St. John of the Cross describes it as even more intimate -

The Reverend Christopher Hogin When We Are Egypt Exodus 14:19-31 The Episcopal Church of the Ascension September 17, 2017             Last week I sat on my porch and enjoyed a steaming cup of hot tea while reading the latest edition of The Knoxville News Sentinel. It was a magnificent day. The air was cool, and no humidity. The sky was a deep azure blue. All was well. The grass was mowed and the chores were completed. I was blessed.             I then opened up the paper. On the front page a picture of Hurricane Harvey showed the devastation loss ravaging through Texas, while the state of Florida prepared for Irma, a category 5 hurricane. I looked around at my environment: the sunshine, blue skies, and gentle breezes. It was all so different here. While Texas and Florida were swallowed up by flooding, raging winds, and terrifying storm surges, East Tennessee basked in glorious weather. Were the people of East Tennessee blessed, while those in Texas and Florida not? Thi