Sermons

Luke 1:5-20; Luke 1:26-38 Zechariah had a good life. Good–but not what he had expected. Good–but only after decades of working to claim the goodness. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old. They had not been able to have a child.  In biblical times, infertility was a source of tremendous grief and pain, as couples who were […]

Luke 17:11-19 The last time the ten lepers would have seen a priest was probably the day  they were cast out. In Jesus’ time, when a priest diagnosed someone with leprosy, there was a funeral-like ritual to acknowledge that they would no longer be part of their families or community.  It’s hard for me to […]

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Preaching in the season of stewardship.  I must admit that it’s not my most favorite time to preach.  You know…preaching about money, giving, making a stewardship pledge.  Maybe it’s the old New England Yankee in me.  One doesn’t talk about money.  It’s not polite.  Just not done. Then I found a poem […]

Mark 14:22-25 I remember crab feasts at Grandma and Granddaddy’s house. A couple times a year, Granddaddy would drive down the street to a place that sold steamed spiced crabs, straight from the Chesapeake Bay.  He’d bring them back in big brown paper bags. Meanwhile, we would help Grandma put newspaper all over their old-fashioned […]

Luke 14:15-24 Our Jesus the Foodie theme has been a walk down Memory Lane for me, stirring up snippets of songs and Sunday School lessons and favorite meals.  This week’s story hits the jackpot—two distinct memories of learning this parable. The first comes from my high school youth group. We chose this parable for our […]

Luke 15:11-32 “Unbelievable!” says the younger son in wonder, as he stands at the door looking into the feast.  “I can’t believe this is for me.  Last time I had a full meal it was pig slop. That’s all I deserve after what I did.  How can I sit down at this feast? I don’t […]

Romans 12:9-13; Luke 19:1-10 The tune has been swirling in my head all week: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up high on the sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.” The song conjures up memories of my kindergarten Sunday School class at Emmaus United […]

John 2:1-11 I steeped my tea and poured my cereal. Before sitting down, I pulled out my calendar to see what was ahead for my Tuesday.  Ahh, a lightly scheduled day. I can start thinking about my sermon: what in the world can I say about Jesus turning water into wine? As I often do […]

Rev. Liz Garrigan-Byerly 1 Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 13:33 Good morning and thank you for inviting me into your pulpit this morning. My family began worshipping with you this summer and we are grateful for your warm and gentle welcome. After 10 years of parish ministry, I’m learning how to be a congregant, and you’ve made […]

Matthew 11:28-30 This morning I brought my book bag to be blessed, because I use it on a day-to-day basis, and it carries papers and to-do lists that always can use a blessing. Just for show, I brought along my big backpack, even though it doesn’t get much use these days. It is in a […]