|
A sermon for the Feast of Pentecost
May 28, 2023 Preached at St. Peter's in Tollville, Ark. The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23 “Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.” So says the African American spiritual. It’s an appropriate song for today, the feast of Pentecost, because it is today that we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on those first apostles. This Holy Spirit is the promised comforter, the promised Advocate, the third person of the Holy Trinity, sent to support, strengthen, and sustain them. This is the One who gives them power to accomplish what they have been called to do.
0 Comments
A sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 14, 2023: Mother's Day The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 14:15-21 “If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may ‘bide with you for ever: e’en the spir’t of truth.” If you have ever sung in a choir at an Episcopal church, you have likely sung these words from our gospel today set to music by Thomas Tallis, the English musician and composer of the 16th century. His music has, in a sense, defined this text for me. In my mind, I cannot hear the words of Jesus in this passage from John without also hearing the music of Tallis. Such is the power of music. A sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 7, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 14:1-14 In today’s reading from John, Jesus is telling his disciples goodbye. Our reading comes from the Last Supper. Jesus is giving his farewell discourse, his final parting words before his death. In a few moments, he will pray his high priestly prayer, asking God the Father to care for them, to strengthen them, to make them one as he and the Father are one. Jesus tells them that where he is going, they cannot go right now. He is going to prepare a place for them. But in time, he will come again and take them to his Father’s house, so that where he is, they may be also. This promise is for us today, as well. Christ is preparing a place even now for us. In the Father’s house are many dwellings. This is a way of saying there is enough room for you and for me, enough room for all the creation, within the Creator’s arms of love and mercy. He says, “And you know the way to the place where I am going.” A sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 30, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: Acts 2:42-47 A friend of mine in seminary once said it best. We had a big test coming up, and we were worried and complaining. I remember my friend saying, “Listen, y’all, we can do hard things.” “How can you be sure about that?” came the reply. My friend said, “We can do hard things because Jesus is risen from the dead.” A sermon for the third Sunday of Easter
April 23, 2023 The Rt. Rev. Larry R. Benfield, Bishop of Arkansas Readings: Luke 24:13-35 It is a fact that 20 pounds of grass seed will overseed about 2000 sq. ft. of lawn. It is a fact that those same seeds need daytime temperatures in the 70s and nighttime temperatures in the 50s to germinate properly. It is a fact that a light application of a balanced fertilizer will result in both good root growth and strong blades for newly sprouted seeds. It is a fact that when a lawn is seeded it needs water a couple of times per day until the grass has developed sufficient roots. I know the facts about seeding a lawn because I do research and my undergraduate degree is in Agribusiness. A sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter
April 16, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 20:19-31 Today is called “Low Sunday.” It’s called that because our numbers tend to be low after our big Easter Sunday. Those who show up today are dragged here by something greater than themselves, by the very Spirit of God pulling them, by grace, to the life on offer in the word and sacraments. But for many, the pattern is Easter Sunday, then we need a break. A sermon for the Day of the Resurrection: Easter Sunday
April 9, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 20:1-18 What is a nice Easter? A nice Easter is a day with good weather, a day the Easter bunny won’t have to dodge puddles. A nice Easter is a day when the children, somehow, almost magically, dress themselves in Easter suits and dresses. A nice Easter is a day with a good ham, good sides, good wine, good conversation, and good entertainment. A nice Easter is a day with good hymns, with a good (not-too-long) sermon, and some good flowers on the cross. A nice Easter is a day for good family photos. A sermon for the Great Vigil of Easter
April 8, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: Matthew 28:1-10 Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The cross comes first, then glory. The cross comes first, then life and peace. The cross comes first, then forgiveness. The cross comes first, then resurrection. Sometimes we want to shortcut everything, go immediately to glory, to life, to peace, to forgiveness, to resurrection. But we can’t. It all depends on the cross. A sermon for Holy Saturday
April 8, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: Matthew 27:57-66 How can we understand what is happening today? Truth be told, we come to the edge of words. God in the flesh has been killed in the most godless way, on the most irreligious tool of torture. There was no legion of angels at the last minute, no sleight of hand. He is dead: laid in the arms of his mother, and then taken to a tomb nearby. A sermon for Good Friday
April 7, 2023 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Readings: John 18:1-19:42 Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Every family has its secrets. They’re never spoken publicly, rarely spoken privately. Yesterday evening I introduced us to Brian. Brian was in a car wreck that paralyzed him from the neck down. It transformed his relationship with his wife and children forever. Brian, always the provider, had to learn the other side of love: being provided for. His paralysis wasn’t a secret. The car wreck wasn’t a secret. Most people wouldn’t have even known there was a secret to be had. But there was one. The secret was the answer to that question, the question everyone had been asking the night of the wreck: Why was Brian out driving so late at night? |
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP!Join us for worship every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. There is a mid-week service on Tuesdays at 5:30 with anointing for the sick and Holy Communion. Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
