St. John's Franklin Podcast (Sermons)

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Incarnate Forever” for Ascension Sunday on June 1, 2014. In the ascension Jesus continues as the incarnate Word--He ascends to heaven with a human body--He is exalted as our King but through the Cross.

The Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 93
Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53

A Reading from a commentary on St John’s Gospel by Cyril of Alexandria 

Our Lord Jesus Christ has opened for us a new and living way into God’s presence, ‘not entering a sanctuary made by human hands, but by entering heaven itself to appear before God on our behalf’. For Christ has not entered heaven in order to make his own appearance before God the Father. He was, and is, and always will be in the Father, in the sight of the One from whom he receives his being, for in him is the Father’s unending joy. 

But today, the Word, who had never been clothed in human nature before, has ascended as a human being, revealing himself in a new and unfamiliar way. And he has done this for us and in our name, so that being like us (though with the status of the Son) and hearing the command to ‘Sit at my right hand’, he might transmit to fellow members of the human race the glory of being children of God. For since he became man it is as one of us that he sits at the right hand of God the Father, though in truth he is above all creation and is one in being with his Father: God from God, Light from Light. 

It was, then, as a human being on our behalf that he appeared before the Father today, to enable those who had been cast out from the Father’s presence because of sin to once again behold the face of God. As the Son he took his seat to enable us as sons and daughters through him to be called the children of God. That is why Paul, who claims to speak for Christ, teaches that the whole human race participates in the life of Christ, saying: ‘God has raised us up with Christ and enthroned us with him in the heavenly places.’

Direct download: Known_By_His_Scars.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 10:15am CDT

Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled “The Spirit of Truth” for The Sixth Sunday of Easter on May 25, 2014. 

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 17:22-31

Psalm 66:8-20 
1 Peter 2:18-25
John 14:15-21

Direct download: The_Spirit_of_Truth.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 3:12pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Bless the Place Where You Live” for The Fifth Sunday of Easter on May 18, 2014. God urges us to seek the welfare of the places where He has put us. Within the spheres of influence that God has given us, we are to be agents of shalom--in our work, our neighborhoods, the institutions we serve, our town and the part of creation in which we dwell.

The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 7:54-60

Psalm 31:1-5,15-16 
1 Peter 3:8-22
John 14:1-14

Direct download: Seek_the_Welfare_of_the_City.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:31am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Mark of God's Loving Embrace” for The Third Sunday of Easter on April 27, 2014. The whole of the Christian life is lived out of our union with Christ; participation in the life of Christ and thus in the very life of God. Baptism is the rite (ceremony) of this spiritual union with God. Being baptized is the sign, the mark of God’s loving embrace of you. 

The Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-4,12-19
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35

Direct download: Mark_of_Embrace.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:31am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Divine Embrace: The Two Arms of God” for The Second Sunday of Easter on April 27, 2014.  What is the overarching story of our faith…and how do we connect with it? How does it relate to the nitty-gritty details of our everyday life? God became one of us, ”dwelt among us” as John puts it, and restored the union of humanity with Himself.

 

The Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14, 22-32

Psalm 16 

1 Peter 1:1-9

John 20:19-31

Direct download: Purpose.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “That We Might Walk in Newness of Life” for Easter Sunday on April 20, 2014.  The empty tomb meant that power of a closed world—the world defined by humanity’s failure, by our failures, is broken…If you are in Christ, you also, just like Peter and Jesus’ other followers on that Sunday, are included in the New Creation.  The power of the resurrection is at work within you.

Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34-43

Psalm 118:1-2,14-24 

Colossians 3:1-4

Matthew 28:1-10

Direct download: Newness.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Ministry of Disillusionment” based on Matthew 27:11-54 for Palm Sunday on April 13, 2014. The ministry of disillusionment is the ongoing and continual discovery that the world is broken—at every level.The death of Jesus provides the only starting point for us as Christians for understanding and living in a broken world. 

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9

Psalm 31:9-16 

Philippians 2:5-11

Matthew 27:11-54

Direct download: MinistryofDisillusionment.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:28am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Defeat of Death” based on John 11:1-45 for the Fifth Sunday of Lent on April 6, 2014. In our Gospel reading today Jesus interrupts a funeral to show that He will defeat our ultimate enemy, death itself.

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130 

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

Direct download: DefeatofDeath.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 2:43pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Two Kinds of Blindness” based on John 9:1-41 for the Fourth Sunday of Lent on March 30, 2014. Our Gospel reading today is a story of one physically blind who receives his spiritual sight, and others, supposedly possessing spiritual insight, who are actually blind. God sees in a different mode to how we see.

 

 

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23 

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

Direct download: TwoKindsofBlindness.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 7:04am CDT

Our bishop, the Archbishop Robert Duncan, visited St. John's this Sunday. He worshipped with us, preached the Gospel, and did confirmations. His sermon,“Give Me This Water,” was based on John 4 on the Third Sunday of Lent on March 23, 2014.

The Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95

Romans 5:1-11
John 4:4-42

Direct download: Give_Me_This_Water.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:12pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Abraham and Christian Hope” based on Genesis 12:1-4 and Romans 4:1-5, 15-17 for the Second Sunday of Lent on March 16, 2014. When we seem to be at a dead end or a stuck place, the freedom of God is the source of our hope. The freedom of God means that He is not bound by how the world defines what is possible.

Direct download: The_Freedom_of_God.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 10:48am CDT

Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled “Baptism and Temptation” based on Matthew 4:1-11 for The First Sunday of Lent on March 9, 2014. 

 

The First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

 

Direct download: Baptism_and_Temptation.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 4:02pm CDT

Thomas McKenzie preached a sermon entitled “The Real Jesus” based on Matthew 17:1-9 for Transfiguration Sunday on March 2, 2014. 

 

Transfiguration Sunday

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 99 

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

Direct download: Real_Jesus.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 3:58pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Missio Dei: Being a Witness” based on 1 Corinthians 3:10-23 for The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany on February 23, 2014. Being a witness means manifesting God’s light in the everyday circumstances of life and leaving the results to God.

 

 

 

The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Psalm 119:33-40 

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

Matthew 5:38-48

Direct download: Missio_Dei_5.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 7:06am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Missio Dei: God Causes the Growth” based on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 for The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany on February 16, 2014. God causes the growth, we are his workers, cultivating and facilitating the life that comes from Him.

 

The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Psalm 119:1-8 

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Matthew 5:21-37

Direct download: Missio_Dei_4.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:56am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Missio Dei: Foretaste” based on Matthew 5:13-20 for The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany on February 9, 2014. The church, in the ordinary work of its common life, becomes—in itself—a locally embodied foretaste of the Kingdom.

 

The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 58:1-9 

Psalm 112:1-9 

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Matthew 5:13-20

Direct download: Missio_Dei_3.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Missio Dei: Receiving the Gopsel” based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 for The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany on February 2, 2014. To participate in God’s mission, we must receive the Gospel in an on-going way: continually bring our sin-marred lives to God by faith, and open ourselves in an on-going way to the restorational power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Micah 6:1-8 

Psalm 15 

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12

Direct download: Missio_Dei_2.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Missio Dei: Following Jesus” based on Matthew 4:12-23 for The Third Sunday after Epiphany on January 26, 2014.    The missio Dei, God’s redemptive mission to the world, always begins with Jesus calling followers.

The Third Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 9:1-4 

Psalm 27:1, 4-9 

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Matthew 4:12-23

Direct download: Missio_Dei_1.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 12:23pm CDT

Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled “The Lamb of God” based on John 1:29-42 for The Second Sunday after the Epiphany on January 12, 2014.

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 49:1-7 

Psalm 40:1-11 

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 

John 1:29-42

Direct download: LambofGod.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled “The Power of God's Delight” based on Matthew 3:13-17 for The Baptism of the Lord on January 12, 2014.

The Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 42:1-9 

Psalm 29 

Acts 10:34-43 

Matthew 3:13-17

Direct download: The_Power_of_Gods_Delight.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “No Longer At Ease Here” based on Matthew 2:1-12 for The Feast of the Epiphany on January 5, 2014. Epiphany marks the celebration of the New Testament reality that the revelation of God, the Gospel, is now available to all the peoples of the earth.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

From The Journey of the Magi, T.S. Eliot

The Feast of the Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6 

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 

Ephesians 3:1-12 

Matthew 2:1-12

Direct download: No_Longer_At_Ease.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Miracle and Mystery of Christmas, Part 2” based on Luke 2:1-20 for The Feast of the Incarnation on December 24, 2013.  "You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. 
When you took our flesh to set us free you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb."        

The Feast of the Incarnation

Isaiah 62:6-12 

Psalm 97 

Titus 3:4-7 

Luke 2:1-20

Direct download: Miracle_and_Mystery_Pt_2.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 12:47pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Miracle and Mystery of Christmas” based on Matthew 1 for The Fourth Sunday of Advent on December 22, 2013.  Matthew wants us to pay attention to the mystery and miracle of Christmas, and each of his signs or markers reveal to us something of the strange and wonderful beauty of this miracle.     

The Fourth  Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-16 

Psalm 80:1-7,17-19 

Romans 1:1-7 

Matthew 1:18-25

Direct download: Miracle_and_Mystery.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:27am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Strengthen Your Hearts” based on Matthew 11:2-11 and James 5:7-10 for The Third Sunday of Advent on December 15, 2013. Only as our hearts are established in the Gospel can we live in an imperfect world, with imperfect people, and with our own imperfection, with patience, hope, and gratitude. 

The Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:1-10 

Luke 1:46-55 

James 5:7-10 

Matthew 11:2-11

Direct download: Strengthen_Your_Hearts.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “A Lifestyle of Repentance” based on Matthew 3:1-12 for The Second Sunday of Advent on December 8, 2013. When God enters our stories it often results in disruption and re-orientation. Such occassions can become opportunities for repentance.
 

The Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10 

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 

Romans 15:4-13 

Matthew 3:1-12

Direct download: Lifestyle_of_Repentance.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Preparing for the Long Haul” based on Matthew 24:36-44 for The First Sunday of Advent on December 1, 2013. Jesus uses the disciples’ questions to train them to know how to wait in a world in which some presume they can read the signs of the time. Jesus is preparing his disciples for the long haul. The Gospel means that the future has invaded the present, endurance and waiting are the way of the followers of Jesus between the first and second advents.
 

The First Sunday ofAdvent

Isaiah 2:1-5 

Psalm 122 

Romans 13:11-14 

Matthew 24:36-44

Direct download: The_Long_Haul.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:50am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Crucified King” based on Luke 1:68-79 for Christ The King Sunday on November 24, 2013. Jesus turns on concept of kingship upside down on Good Friday, and provides a paradigm for understanding times when God seems absent or inactive.

Christ The King Sunday

Jeremiah 23:1-10 

Luke 1:68-79 

Colossians 1:11-20 

Luke 23:33-43

Direct download: The_Crucified_King.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Brian Goodwin preached a sermon entitled “The Former Things Shall Not Be Remembered” based on Isaiah 65:17-25 for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time on November 17, 2013.  

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 65:17-25
Isaiah 12:2-6

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19

Direct download: Former_Things.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:05pm CDT

Mary Maggard Hays preached a sermon entitled “Trying To Trap Jesus” based on Luke 20:20-40 for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time on November 10, 2013. As Jesus responds to various attempts to trap Him in theological conundrums, He reveals the richness of life that is offered in the Gospel.  

Mary is Canon to the Ordinary of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Haggai 1:15-2:9
Psalm 98

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:20-40

Direct download: Trying_to_Trap_Jesus.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Communion of Saints” for the All Saints Day on November 3, 2013. All Saints Day reminds us that the Gospel travels through human relationships.

All Saints Day

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 

Psalm 149 

Ephesians 1:11-23 

Luke 6:20-31

Direct download: The_Communion_of_Saints.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Giving” based on 1 Timothy 6:6-21 for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time on October 27, 2013. One of the ways spiritual maturity shows up in our lives is in learning to participate in God’s gift economy; growing in our understanding of using our material possessions for God in response to His grace and abundance. 

The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Joel 2:23-32 

Psalm 65 

1 Timothy 6:6-21 

Luke 18:9-14

Direct download: Giving.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Power of Words” based on 2 Timothy 2:1-19 for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time on October 20, 2013.   Words are holy—all words; whether we are making up a shopping list, making conversation with an acquaintance, praying in the name of Jesus, reading the prophet Jeremiah or writing a letter to our congresswoman. But words are also vulnerable to corruption, twisted into blasphemies, trivialized into gossip. 

Because God has chosen speech as the means for His action and revelation, when we speak, a mysterious power is attached to what we say. When our words are not connected with the Eternal Word, a misuse or abuse of the power of our words is likely.
    Jacques Ellul, The Humiliation of the Word 

The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Psalm 119:97-104

2 Timothy 2:1-19

Luke 18:1-8

Direct download: The_Power_of_Words.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Stepping Up” based on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time on October 13, 2013.  The Gospel is transmitted through the church from generation to generation. We each must step up and do our part.   

The Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 29:1,4-7

Psalm 66:1-11

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:11-19

Direct download: Stepping_Up.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

KennyBenge preached a sermon entitled “Thinking Together About Church” for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time on October 6, 2013.  Despite its weakness and frailty, the church is the core element in God’s strategy for providing human witness and physical presence to the kingdom of God.       

The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lamentations 1:1-6

Lamentations 3:19-26

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Luke 17:5-10

Direct download: Thinking_About_Church.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Arthur Boers preached a sermon entitled “The Wells of Salvation” for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on September 29, 2013. Wells often are places where significant cultural and spiritual things happen in Scripture. They are focal places that draw and connect people to each other and God.   

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 12:1-6

Psalm 36:5-9

Revelation 22:16-17

John 4:1-15

Direct download: Wells_of_Salvation.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Seek the Welfare of Your Community” based on 1 Timothy 2:1-7 for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on September 22, 2013. Paul instructs the church on its posture toward the watching world.

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Psalm 79:1-9
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13

Direct download: Posture.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “He Came Down From Heaven” based on John 1:1-14 for the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist on September 15, 2013, the celebration of our 3rd anniversary as a church.

Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Exodus 33:18-23

1 John 1:1-9
John 21:19b-24
Psalm 92

Direct download: He_Came_Down_from_Heaven.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled “Where Are You?” based on Genesis 3:6-9 for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on September 8, 2013

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
Philemon 1-21
Luke 14:25-33

Direct download: Where_Are_You.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Efficiency Vs. Love” based on Luke 14:1-14 for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on September 1, 2013.   At its best, efficiency is a way of structuring our lives in the ways of love that God has called us to. At its worst, efficiency is what the NT calls a power; causing us either to avoid or manipulate the dignity and value of the people around us.                        

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14

Direct download: Efficiency_Vs_Love.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Two Mountains” based on Hebrews 12:18-29 for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on August 25, 2013.  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews uses contrasting images of Mt Sinai and Mt. Zion that help us experience the gravity of our choice to trust in our own religious efforts or to trust in Christ’s finished work on the Cross.                    

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17

 

Direct download: Two_Mountains.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “A Long Obedience” based on Hebrews 11:29-12:2 for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on August 18, 2013.  In our Epistle reading calls us to a "long obedience in the same direction." The Christian life is a pilgrim journey through life toward God.                 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56

Direct download: Long_Obedience.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Where Is Your Heart?” based on Luke 12:32-40 for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time on August 11, 2013.  In our Gospel passage today, Jesus continues his warning about seeking security outside of God’s kingdom.  He admonishes us to train our desires so that they are oriented to God’s kingdom.             

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 1:1,10-20

Psalm 50:1-8,23-24
Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16
Luke 12:32-40

Direct download: Where_Is_Your_Heart.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 1:12pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Being Rich Toward God” based on Luke 12:13-21 for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time on August 4, 2013.   Jesus teaches us we need discerment regarding our possessions if we are to live richly toward God.         

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hosea 11:1-11

Psalm 107:1-9, 33-38, 43
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21

Direct download: Rich_Toward_God.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:57am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Fatherhood of God” based on Luke 11:1-13 for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time on July 28, 2013.   Despite our imperfect experiences with earthly fathers and friends, we can trust that God the Father cares for us as His children and acts on our behalf to save and redeem us. We know that because He promises us to give us Himself and everything we need for life in His kingdom.         

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hosea 1:1-10

Psalm 85
Colossians 2:6-15
Luke 11:1-13

Direct download: Fatherhood_of_God.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:49am CDT

Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled “Living a Better Story” based on Luke 10:38-42 for the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time on July 21, 2013.     

Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Amos 8:1-12

Psalm 52
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42

Direct download: Better_Story.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:16am CDT

Thomas McKenzie preached a sermon entitled “OBO: The Good Samaritan” based on Luke 10:25-37 for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time on July 14, 2013.     

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Amos 7:7-17

Psalm 82
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37

Direct download: OBO.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:02am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Being A Witness” based on Luke 10:1-20 for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time on July 7, 2013.  We are sent as parables of grace to a hurting and hungry world.     

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 66:10-14

Psalm 66:1-9
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-20

Direct download: Being_a_Witness.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “No Little People, No Little Places” based on Galatians 5:1, 13-26 for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 30, 2013. Because we are fallen creatures, our propensity toward comparison with others and the resulting pendulum swing of feelings of superiority and inferiority can isolate us from the Christian community, but the Gospel heals us and makes us whole, enable us more and more to know in relation to our self and others that "just as there are no little people in God's sight, so there are no little places." 

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-26
Luke 9:51-62

Direct download: NoLittlePeople.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:02am CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Healing the Soul” based on Luke 8:26-39 for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 23, 2013. Jesus has just stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee; now He heals and calms the soul of the man filled with demons. Luke is demonstrating that all forces—nature, evil, demons, disease and death—that threaten to overwhelm us, threaten to diminish or extinguish human flourishing—are rendered powerless by Jesus' presence and power. Relationship to Jesus brings security in the midst of the trials and temptations of this life.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 65:1-9

Psalm 22:19-28
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39

Direct download: Healing_The_Soul.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 12:47pm CDT

Brian Goodwin preached a sermon entitled “Finding Ourselves In The Story” based on Luke 7:36-8:3 for Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 16, 2013. This narrative from Luke 8 provides us with an opportunity to see Jesus as he relates to humanity. Looking at the passage more personally helps us see the many parts we play in God's story.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15

Psalm 32
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3

Direct download: Finding_Ourselves_in_the_Story.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Embracing A Sabbath Way of Life” based on Genesis 1:26-2:3 for Creation Sunday on June 9, 2013. A Sabbath way of life helps us delight in and receive the good gifts of God—Sabbath helps us see our homes, our families, our friends, our community as gifts from God—an economy of gift, that leads to gratitude, and that gratitude becomes worship. True Sabbath rest means making room in our lives to love God and love the world around us.

The Sabbath opens Creation for its true future. Jurgen Moltmann

Creation Sunday
Genesis 1:26-2:3

Psalm 104:5-24
Romans 8:18-25
Mark 2:23-28

Direct download: Sabbath_Way_of_Living.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 6:00pm CDT

Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled “Amazing Faith” based on Luke 7:1-10 for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 2, 2013. Jesus discovers faith in the Gentile Centaurion.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 8:22-23,41-43

Psalm 96:1-9
Galatians 1:1-12
Luke 7:1-10

Direct download: Amazing_Faith.mp3
Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Grasping the Reality of the Ascension based on Luke 24:36-53 for the Ascension of the Lord on May 12, 2013. To grasp the truth of the ascension is to know that the throne of God, which would have been a place of judgment for us, is now filled with grace and kindness. Now that the ascended Christ has taken our humanity into heaven, He resides at the right hand of the Father, and He constantly is our advocate and our intercessor, a great high priest who sympathizes with us.

    The Ascension of the Lord
    Acts 1:1-11
    Psalm 47
    Ephesians 1:15-23
    Luke 24:36-53

    Direct download: Grasping_the_Ascension.mp3
    Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

    Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Re-Imagining Heaven With St. Paul based on 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 for the Sixth Sunday of Easter on May 5, 2013. The Easter accounts in the Gospels and Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 confront us with our often poor and impoverished understanding of heaven. These impoverished views lead to faulty views of what it means to live and work for God's kingdom in the present. God is making all things new, and He invites us to participate in the present.

      The Sixth Sunday of Easter
      Acts 16:9-15
      Psalm 67
      1 Corinthians 15:50-58
      John 5:1-9

      Direct download: ReimaginingHeaven.mp3
      Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

      Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Redemption of Our Bodies based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 for the Fifth Sunday of Easter on April 28, 2013. The Scriptures regard persons as a totality: in the Biblical mindset; human beings operate as integrated, connected and embodied people. Jesus' human body was integral, not merely instrumental, to the redemption of mankind. God's future for us will involve the redemption and transformation of our bodies.

        The Fifth Sunday of Easter
        Acts 11:1-18
        Psalm 148
        1 Corinthians 15:35-49
        John 13:31-35

        Direct download: The_Redemption_of_Our_Bodies.mp3
        Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

        Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Lord Is My Shepherd based on Psalm 23 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter on April 21, 2013. We are creatures in time and space, and our vulnerability and uncertainty arise out of our “creatureliness”—our body and soul is tied to particular times, places, and people. Psalm 23 tells us that The Good Shepherd understands our creatureliness—and His shepherding care transcends both life and death.

          The Fourth Sunday of Easter
          Acts 9:36-43
          Psalm 23
          Revelation 7:9-17
          John 10:22-30

          Direct download: The_Lord_Is_My_Shepherd.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled All Shall Be Made Alive based on 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 for the Third Sunday of Easter on April 14, 2013. The resurrection of Jesus is the paradigm of the New Creation; Christ the first fruits, then the resurrection and transformation of both mankind and Creation itself. Christ is the second Adam, He has done what what Adam failed to do.

          The Third Sunday of Easter
          Acts 5:27-32
          Psalm 30
          1 Corinthians 15:12-28
          John 21:1-19

          Direct download: All_Shall_Be_Made_Alive.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Witnesses Must Come Forward based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 for the Second Sunday of Easter on April 7, 2013. It is not enough for Paul to declare the Resurrection as true history; witnesses must come forward. Jesus is the Risen Messiah and Lord; this reality is to give shape to our way of life and it is the basis for our hope of resurrection; and for the renewal of all Creation with us.

          The Second Sunday of Easter
          Acts 9:1-20
          Psalm 118:14-29
          1 Corinthians 15:1-11
          Luke 24:1-12

          Direct download: WitnessesComeForward.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled That We Might Walk in Newness of Life for Easter Sunday on March 31, 2013. The empty tomb meant that power of Peter’s closed world—the world defined by his failure and betrayal of Jesus—is broken…

          The Resurrection of the Lord
          Isaiah 65:17-25
          Psalm 118:1-2,14-24
          Acts 10:34-43
          Luke 24:1-12

          Direct download: Newness_of_Life.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Embrace of Death for Palm Sunday on March 24, 2013. The death of Jesus provides a starting point for us as Christians for understanding and living in a broken world. Jesus entered into the same messiness of life that we live in: failed plans, disappointing relationships, political despair, accidents, sickness, disability, mean people, bullies—Jesus entered into the broken world in which we live—and the remarkable thing is that He embraced it. His embrace of this broken world resulted in enormous suffering and an excruciating death.

          Palm Sunday
          Isaiah 50:4-9
          Psalm 31:9-16
          Philippians 2:5-11
          Luke 19:28-44, 24:1-56

          Direct download: Embrace_of_Death.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Deadly Sin of Gluttony for The Fifth Sunday of Lent  on March 17, 2013. During Lent, we are exploring an ancient taxonomy of sin to help us examine our lives, develop a lifestyle of repentance, and experience a fresh and joyous grace in Christ. Gluttony does not give any particular value to anything it consumes. It does not savor, it only devours. Because of that, it is a sin against the created order. Gluttony and lust are the only sins that abuse something that is essential to our survival…and because of that, they are particularly susceptible to becoming institutionalized in the structures that we live within. A disrespect for food and sexuality is a disrespect for creation, for the goodness and bounty of creation. It is the great curse of Gluttony that it ends by destroying all sense of the precious, the unique, the irreplaceable.

          The Fifth Sunday of Lent
          Isaiah 43:16-21
          Psalm 126
          Philippians 3:4-14
          John 12:1-8

          Direct download: Deadly_Sin_of_Gluttony.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:05pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Deadly Sin of Sloth for The Fourth Sunday of Lent  on March 10, 2013. During Lent, we are exploring an ancient taxonomy of sin to help us examine our lives, develop a lifestyle of repentance, and experience a fresh and joyous grace in Christ. The deadly sin of Sloth is a complex and contradictory phenomenon, an “obscure evil.” It is a sin of omission, a sin of “things left undone.” It is a sin of neglect--it abhors what is there and fantasizes about what is not.” It despises our actual life while dreaming of ”what could be.” Sloth tempts us to escape from reality. Sloth demands that life must not ask too much of us, and tells us that we have a right to get by with a minimum of effort, tells us that deserve achievement and reward despite our sluggishness.

          The Fourth Sunday of Lent
          Joshua 5:9-12
          Psalm 32
          2 Corinthians 5:16-21
          Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

          Direct download: The_Deadly_Sin_of_Sloth.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 10:13pm CDT

          The Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons preached a sermon on Luke 13:1-9 for The Third Sunday of Lent on March 3, 2013. 

          The Third Sunday of Lent
          Exodus 3:1-15
          Psalm 63:1-8
          1 Corinthians 10:1-13
          Luke 13:1-9

          Direct download: Bishop_Frank.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Deadly Sin of Envy for The Second Sunday of Lent  on February 24, 2013. During Lent, we are exploring an ancient taxonomy of sin to help us examine our lives, develop a lifestyle of repentance, and experience a fresh and joyous grace in Christ. The deadly sin of Envy hates to see other people happy. It begins by asking: Why should I not enjoy what others enjoy? And it ends by demanding “Why should others enjoy what I cannot? The envious man does not love himself, although he begins with self-love. He is not grateful for, or happy in what he is or what he has. It will not let him live as himself, grateful for his qualities and talents, such as they are, making the best and most rewarding use of them. The sin of envy keeps us from accepting the ordinary parts of ourselves 

          The Second Sunday of Lent
          Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
          Psalm 27
          Philippians 3:17-4:1
          Luke 13:31-35

          Direct download: The_Deadly_Sin_of_Envy.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Deadly Sin of Pride for The First Sunday of Lent  on February 17, 2013. During Lent, we are exploring an ancient taxonomy of sin to help us examine our lives, develop a lifestyle of repentance, and experience a fresh and joyous grace in Christ. Pride is the first, worst, and most prevalent of the seven deadly sins.  The Greeks warned of hubris, the overreaching arrogance that creates an illusion of invulnerability (“pride goes before a fall) and in the biblical view, pride is the fundamental violation and disordering of love because it puts the love of the human self before the love of God.

          The First Sunday of Lent
          Deuteronomy 26:1-11
          Psalm 91:1-2,9-16
          Romans 10:8-13
          Luke 4:1-13

          Direct download: The_Deadly_Sin_of_Pride.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 9:34pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Transfiguration, Lent, and the Good Life for Transfiguration Sunday  on February 10, 2013. The New Testament teaches that those who are spiritually alive in the Kingdom of God are the most well off. Being alive in god’s Kingdom is a gift from God, not a moral program we design for ourselves to better ourselves.  Spiritual practices that we undertake during Lent help to put us in a place for God to work, making room for Jesus, training us in how to respond to God with a lifestyle of repentance. 

          Transfiguration Sunday
          Exodus 34:29-35
          Psalm 99
          2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
          Luke 9:28-36

          Direct download: Transfiguration_and_Lent.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Thomas McKenzie preached a sermon entitled Love Story based on 1 Corinthians 13 for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany on February 3, 2013. 

          Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
          Jeremiah 1:4-10
          Psalm 71:1-6
          1 Corinthians 13:1-13
          Luke 4:21-30

          Direct download: Love_Story.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled The Missional Church and Youth for the Third Sunday after Epiphany on January 27, 2013. Hospitality is a central missional practice of the church—having been welcomed by God into His presence, we are to welcome others. Rather than segmenting youth away from adults, as many churches do today, our vision for youth ministry means incorporating our youth into the body of Christ —extending hospitality to them so they have a sense of belonging, recognizing that adults and youth need each other, and allowing God to bring healing.

          Second Sunday after Epiphany
          Nehemiah 8:1-10
          Psalm 19
          1 Corinthians 12:12-31
          Luke 4:14-21

          Direct download: MissionalChurchYouth.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Missional Church for the Second Sunday after Epiphany on January 20, 2013. The Scriptures teach that in Jesus Christ, God is redemptively restoring his fallen creation in every part, until at last all things are made new. This is the missio Dei, the redemptive mission of God to the world. God intends to accomplish this mission by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Christian church. The church, that one, holy, catholic, and apostolic community—that is both global in its reach and local in its expression—is the intended instrument for the mission of God. Hospitality is a central missional practice of the church—having been welcomed by God into His presence, we are to welcome others.

          Second Sunday after Epiphany
          Isaiah 62:1-5
          Psalm 36:5-10
          1 Corinthians 12:1-11
          John 2:1-11

          Direct download: Missional_Church.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Solidarity With Humanity” based on Luke 3:15-22 for the Baptism of the Lord on January 13, 2013. In His baptism, Jesus identifies with us in our humanity. He assumes and shares in our humanity, in the burden of life in the flesh, with all its temptation, heartache, disappointment, sin, and death.  Jesus becomes human to redeem humanity.

          Jesus rises from the waters; and a drowned world rises with Him. Gregory of Nazianzus

          Baptism of the Lord
          Isaiah 43:1-7
          Psalm 29
          Acts8:14-17
          Luke 3:15-22

          Direct download: JesusBaptism.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Partakers of the Promise” based on Matthew 2:1-12 for the Epiphany of the Lord on January 6, 2013. Epiphany marks the celebration of the New Testament reality that the revelation of God, the Gospel, is now available to all the peoples of the earth. The focus of the people of God is no longer not located in racial descent nor in solidarity with a nation state, but in relationship to the Son of God.

          Epiphany of the Lord
          Isaiah 60:1-6
          Psalm 72:1-7,10-14
          Ephesians 3:1-12
          Matthew 2:1-12

          Direct download: PartakersofthePromise.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled Celebrating Christmas” based on Luke 2:41-52 for the First Sunday after Christmas on December 30, 2012.

          First Sunday after Christmas
          1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
          Psalm 148
          Colossians 3:12-17
          Luke 2:41-52

          Direct download: Celebrating_Christmas.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled A Joyful Meetingbased on Luke 1:39-55 for the Fourth Sunday of Advent on December 23, 2012. Mary and Elizabeth rejoice in their encounter with each other and give testimony that God remembers and acts for those who recognize their need for Him.

          Fourth Sunday of Advent
          Micah 5:2-5
          Luke 1:46-55
          Hebrews 10:5-10
          Luke 1:39-45

          Direct download: A_Joyful_Meeting.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Realism of Advent” for the Third Sunday of Advent on December 16, 2012. In a culture that overly sentimentalizes the holiday season, the realism of Advent can be a shock. But it helps us realize that the roots of Christian joy—sunk deep in the gospel; in the death and resurrection of Jesus, allow it to transcend even the evil, suffering and death we experience in this world.

          The involvement of the church in the suffering of mankind must never be allowed to stifle that supreme note of resurrection triumph or to smother the eschatological joy at the astounding events that have broken into history and pledged for mankind the final day of regeneration. The church must learn to take into its mouth the Good News of the resurrection and new creation, for that must be its primary note, one of limitless joy and thanksgiving. 

          T.F. Torrance      

          Third Sunday of Advent
          Zephaniah 3:14-20
          Isaiah 12:2-6
          Philippians 4:4-7
          Luke 3:7-20

          Direct download: AdventRealism.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Holding Fast to Hope” from Luke 3:1-14 for the Second Sunday of Advent on December 9, 2012. God did not leave us to figure him out, to feel up toward Him, but rather He speaks to us, reveals Himself to us through Scripture. As we keep His word, our Trinitarian God comes to make His home with us. (John 14:22-23.

          The collect for 2nd Advent is one of my favorites. It is an original composition of the English Reformer, Thomas Cranmer, and reflects the recovery of the primacy of Scripture at the time of the English Reformation:

          Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

          Second Sunday of Advent
          Malachi 3:1-4
          Luke 1:68-79
          Philippians 1:3-11
          Luke 3:1-14

          Direct download: Holding_Fast_to_Hope.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Come, Lord Jesus!” from Luke 21:25-36 for the First Sunday of Advent on December 2, 2012. The Ascension establishes a “pause” in the Jesus story, in which the church lives and works, proclaiming the Gospel to all nations and ages. During this time, God graciously allows the history of mankind to run its course so that the world may be given time to repent and believe. In this tension between the first and second coming, we are called to watch, to stay awake, to keep vigil and stay alert as we wait for His return. What does it mean to live in awareness of the Second Coming?

          First Sunday of Advent
          Jeremiah 33:14-16
          Psalm 25:1-10
          1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
          Luke 21:25-36

          Direct download: Come_Lord_Jesus.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled He Made Us to Be a Kingdomfrom Revelation 1:4-8 for Christ the King Sunday on November 25, 2012. What is unique and characteristic of the church is its identity conferred by Jesus Christ and its common life brought into being by the Holy Spirit. A church only has being in relationship to Christ. The church is a colony of heaven and a eucharistic community.

          Last Sunday Before Advent-Christ the King
          Daniel 7:9-14
          Psalm 93
          Revelation 1:4-8
          John 18:33-37

          Direct download: HeMadeUstoBeAKingdom.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Rod McLain preached a sermon entitled The God Who Remembers based on 1 Samuel 1:4-20 for the Second Sunday before Advent on November 18, 2012. While it may seem that God has forgotten us in the midst of times of suffering and confusion, he hasn't. God remembers us and works on our behalf.

          Second Sunday before Advent

          1 Samuel 1:4-20
          1 Samuel 2:1-10
          Hebrews 10:11-25
          Mark 13:1-8

          Direct download: TheGodWhoRemembers.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Put Not Your Trust in Princes” for the Third Sunday before Advent on November 11, 2012. God's providential covenant with and care for the whole of Creation forms the backdrop for our understanding of His care and love for His people. Unlike power arrangements of this age, which are fleeting, and fickle, and unable to help, the God of the bible is the God who makes, who keeps, who initiates, who gives...

          Third Sunday Before Advent

          1 Kings 17:8-16

          Psalm 146

          Hebrews 9:24-28

          Mark 10:46-52

          Direct download: Put_not_your_trust_in_princes.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled The Gospel Travels Through Human Relationships” for All Saints Day on November 4, 2012. The history of God’s saving purposes is supremely a personal history focused on the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. We are part of a larger family, the communion of saints; a family of those who have embraced the story of Jesus, a family seeking to be shaped and transformed by those events, a larger family through whom the Gospel has been past down to us…and it has changed our lives.

          All Saints Day
          Isaiah 25:6-9
          Psalm 24
          Revelation 21:1-6
          John 11:32-44

          Direct download: AllSaints.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Grace From the Whirlwind based on Job 38 for the Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost on October 14, 2012. Job was confused and angry. Crying out to God, he wanted an explanation or vindication—presented with a bill of indictment with specific charges so he could defend himself or a verdict from his Judge, which he fully expected to be a declaration of innocence...so God’s response was absolutely unexpected.

          Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost
          Job 38:1-7,34-41
          Psalm 104:1-9,24,35
          Hebrews 5:1-10
          Mark 10:35-45

          Direct download: Grace_From_the_Whirlwind.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Where Is God? based on Job 23 for the Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost on October 14, 2012. How do we live when our experience of suffering or loss causes our moral universe to collapse? In the theological economy of Job’s former world, before his catastrophic loss, the suffering of a genuinely righteous person was mathematically impossible. But it had happened…An anguished, deeply confused, and angry Job engages with three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad,and Zophar), a youthful bystander (Elihu), and finally with God. Job teaches us what it means to lament, to trust God in the midst of suffering and loss.

          Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
          Job 23:1-9, 16-17
          Psalm 22:1-15
          Hebrews 4:12-16
          Mark 10:17-31 

          Direct download: Lament.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled Fidelity As A Sexual Discipline based on Mark 10:2-16 for the Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost on October 7, 2012. In the Gospel reading for today, the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in legalities about divorce, but he refuses to bite, instead taking to them to Genesis 2 and God’s intent for marriage, grounding the institution of marriage within the fabric of creation itself. Life in our bodies, especially as it relates to our sexuality, requires cultivation if it is to flourish. Fidelity is the necessary practice or discipline that allows for the flourishing of our sexuality.

          (In this sermon, I refer to an extended quote by Wendell Berry. You can download it here.)

          Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

          Job 1:1, 2:1-10
          Psalm 26
          Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
          Mark 10:2-16 

          Direct download: Fidelity.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 8:29am CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “How the Christian Life Is Like Jazz Music” based on Colossians 3:18-4:6 for the Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost on September 30, 2012. Improvisation describes how Christians find ways of remaining faithful in constantly changing circumstances and environments. Most of the Christian life is faithful preparation for an unknown test.

          Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

          Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
          Psalm 124
          Colossians 3:18-4:6
          Mark 9:38-50

          Direct download: XnLifeLike_Jazz.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “An Invitation to the Dance” based on Colossians 3:12-17 for the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist on September 23, 2012. In our epistle reading for today, Paul let’s us in on the fact that Christian community is vital for our spiritual health and central to the church’s true life. Christian community is both training and participation in the dance of God.

          St. John's celebrated our 2nd anniversary this week.

          Almighty and ever living God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for the St. John’s family. Strengthen us in our faithfulness, arouse us in our apathy, and grant us the gift of repentance. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

          Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

          Exodus 33:12-23
          Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14
          Colossians 3:12-17
          John 1:1-18

          Direct download: Invitation_to_the_Dance.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 5:38pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “How to Maintain Spiritual Vitality” based on Colossians 3:5-11 for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost on September 16, 2012. Spiritual vitality requires a lifestyle of repentance. The lifelong process of mortifying sin, or putting sin to death involves a gradual detection process where we are made aware of the particular forms in which sin expresses itself in our lives and those areas are brought into the light for forgiveness, healing, and restoration.

          Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
          Proverbs 1:20-33

          Psalm 116:1-9
          Colossians 3:5-11
          Mark 9:30-37

          Direct download: LifestyleofRepentance.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Christ Our Life” based on Colossians 3:1-4 for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost on September 9, 2012. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus has set the Gospel in motion. Paul is clear that everything necessary for the Christian life is now completed and activated in us because we are “in Christ.”

          Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
          Isaiah 35:4-7
          Psalm 146
          Colossians 3:1-4
          Mark 8:27-38

          Direct download: Christ_Our_Life.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 7:45am CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Jesus, Our Creator and Redeemer” based on Colossians 1:15-23 for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost on September 2, 2012. This poem underlines the Jewish belief in God as the Creator who enters into covenant with all He has made (Jeremiah 31-33, Psalm 104)—but in a radical new way, identifies Jesus Christ as both Creator and Redeemer.  The inseparable link between creation and redemption in the poem brings into focus the cosmic significance of the redemption accomplished in Christ.

          Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
          Deuteronomy 4:1-9
          Psalm 15
          Colossians 1:15-23
          Mark 7:24-37

          Direct download: Creator-Redeemer.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “The Key to Human Flourishing” based on Colossians 1:1-14 for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost on August 26, 2012. The Gospel is a living power continues to grow in us and renew us throughout our lives as we understand its greatness and implications deeply.

          Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
          1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43
          Psalm 84
          Colossians 1:1-14
          Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

          Direct download: Gospel_HumanFlourishing.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Gospel and Eucharist, Part 4” based on John 6:60-61 for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost on August 19, 2012. According to St. Augustine, the constant renewing of desire is a necessary condition of being creatures in time. Desire is not negative, desires are what get us out of bed every morning. The problem now with our desires is that they continually attach themselves to objects that fail to satisfy. Augustine’s insight was that the Fall and sin meant that are now disordered. Consumer culture creates a promise of desire it can never fulfill, but in Christ our seemingly endless spiritual hunger and thirst are absorbed into the lavish abundance of God’s grace in the Gospel.

          Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
          1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
          Psalm 111
          Ephesians 5:15-20
          John 6:60-71

          Direct download: Gospel_and_Eucharist_4.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Gospel and Eucharist, Part 3” based on John 6:41-59 for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost on August 12, 2012. Jesus gives us a central practice—the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist. The celebration of the Eucharist connects us with God—God accommodates Himself to our capacity in the Sacrament in order to make the Gospel real to us.

          Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
          2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
          Psalm 130
          Ephesians 4:25-5:2
          John 6:41-59

          Direct download: Gospel_and_Eucharist_3.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 7:57am CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Gospel and Eucharist, Part 2” based on John 6:1-21 for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost on August 5, 2012. In the second of a four part series on John 6, we examine one of the the most powerful systems of formation in the contemporary world, consumer culture. Jesus invites us to participate in a different kind of liturgy, and a different kind of consumption. 

          Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
          2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
          Psalm 51:1-12
          Ephesians 4:1-16
          John 6:22-40

          Direct download: Gospel_and_Eucharist_2.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:44am CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Gospel and Eucharist, Part 1” based on John 6:1-21 for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost on July 28, 2012. The reading, reflection, and preaching of the Scriptures and the practice of Holy Communion have been the Church’s two central acts of worship down through the centuries. John 6 has been a central text in shaping both of these acts. In the first of a four part series, we examine the pattern of the Lord's SupperTake, Bless, Break, Give—and discover the shape of the liturgy is the shape of the Christian life.

          Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

          2 Samuel 11:1-15
          Psalm 14
          Ephesians 3:14-21
          John 6:1-21

          Direct download: Gospel_and_Eucharist_1.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled “A Different Kind of King” based on 2 Samuel 9 for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost on July 21, 2012.

          Scriptures for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
          2 Samuel 9
          Psalm 89:20-37
          Ephesians 2:11-22
          Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

          Direct download: Different_King.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Danny Bryant preached a sermon entitled “A Different Kind of God” based on 2 Samuel 6 for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost on July 14, 2012.

          Scriptures for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
          2 Samuel 6:1--19
          Psalm 24
          Ephesians 1:3-14
          Mark 6:14-29

          Direct download: Different_God.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “A Different Kind of Hero” based on 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost on July 7, 2012. The biblical story is constantly inviting us to see issues of power and weakness in a different way.

          Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
          2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
          Psalm 48
          2 Corinthians 12:2-10
          Mark 6:1-13

          Direct download: Another_Hero.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “Jesus Welcomes Sinners” based on Mark 5:21-43 for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost on June 30, 2012. The healing of the woman with the issue of blood was a part of Jesus' total ministry, the open welcome of sinners, that went with the inauguration of His kingdom.

          Scriptures for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost:

          2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
          Psalm 130
          2 Corinthians 8:1-15
          Mark 5:21-43

           

          Direct download: Jesus_Welcomes_Sinners.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Brian Goodwin preached a sermon based on Mark 4:35-41 for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost on June 23, 2012.

          Scriptures for Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
          1 Samuel 17:32-49
          Psalm 9:9-20
          2 Corinthians 6:1-13
          Mark 4:35-41

          Direct download: Trust.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “A New Way of Seeing” based on Mark 4 for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost on June 16, 2012. In the Kingdom of God, reality is always more than we can see. Our imaginations need to be renewed and trained to see in a new way.

          Scriptures for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost:

          1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

          Psalm 20

          2 Corinthians 5:6-17

          Mark 4:26-34

          Direct download: A_New_Way_of_Seeing.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT

          Kenny Benge preached a sermon entitled “We Have This Treasure in Clay Jars...” based on 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:1 for the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost on June 9, 2012. ·       The Corinthians wanted resurrection without the cross, but Paul rules out this distortion of the Gospel. We can be people who embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ only if we are people who go through suffering, danger, difficulty and failure. The shape and rhythm of the Christian life is patterned after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

          Direct download: Clay_Jars.mp3
          Category:Sermons -- posted at: 11:00pm CDT