St George's Sermon Blog

1Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:26-39 Our season of discipleship is going to take a bit of a turn this week and instead of the Gospel we are going to take a look at our Old Testament Reading from the book of Kings today.   Now I always get a bit excited when I get to talk about this part of the bible because I actually wrote my Masters Thesis on the David Narratives so I have spent more concerted effort studying this part of the Bible than any other.   And well, the story of Saul, David and Solomon is also just a darn good story.   Though honestly a lot more complicated and frankly a heck of a lot racier than most of us would expect from the pages of a Holy Book.   Sure we all probably know a little bit already about David and Solomon.   That they were early kings of Israel and especially favored by God.   I bet everyone here knows the story of David and Goliath.   You might remember that David conquered Jerusalem and that Solomon built the temple.   Or...

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Today our season of discipleship takes a turn toward growing things.   In gospel story for the week, we hear the first of the many parables that we will hear over the course of the summer that Jesus tells about farming and growing things.   Before the end of the season we will hear about seeds and plants, weeds and shrubs, vineyards and fruit trees.   But today we begin at the beginning with the planting of seeds. Now I have always loved all the agricultural metaphors in the bible.   For you see, my dad grew up on a farm, and was always a farmer at heart, even though we lived in town.   So instead, he turned his attention to gardening.   And he was a professional crop and soil scientist so you would not believe how much he managed to get out of that patch of garden in our yard.   It was quite the serious operation.   And I always loved to ‘help’ him with the garden.   He always had everything carefully planned for ma...

  Pentecost 6 (A) – Proper 9 [RCL] Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:11-18 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Freedom For   This weekend marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the United States. Two hundred and fifty years. That is a remarkable milestone for a nation! Whatever country we inhabit, whatever our political convictions, it is worth pausing to give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy, for the generations who have sacrificed to preserve them. And, in the United States. for the democratic experiment that has endured longer than many thought possible. But anniversaries are not only occasions for celebration. They are also opportunities for reflection. They invite us to ask not only where we have been, but also who we have become. And so, on this weekend, perhaps the question before us is a simple one: What does freedom actually mean? For 250 years, Americans have debated that questi...