Sermons

I appreciate the kind comments I’ve received about my dad’s message last Sunday. He’s a pretty good preacher for 81-years-old, isn’t he? For the coming weeks our themes in worship will be coming from chapters in the Gospels that many of us are reading through this summer. If you haven’t started it isn’t too late…

Rev. Dr. Victor Scalise, Jr., at Brewster Baptist Church John 14:1-6, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a…

Suffering has been part of human existence from the beginning of time. While stories like the tornado in Oklahoma, the Boston Marathon bombing, the shootings in Newtown, CT, or storms like Sandy tend to dominate the news media, there are so many more individual stories of loss, suffering, and pain – most of which we…

Have you ever lost power? A couple of times in the last year we’ve lost power at our house for more than 24 hours.  Why is power important? How does it feel to be without power? Helpless, frustrated, & it’s hard not knowing when you’re going to get it back. Food can spoil. Cooking is…

In a healthy family, a mother serves as a source of unity. Siblings can be very different and sometimes have virtually nothing in common, yet they all are united by the fact that they have the same mother who – ideally and hopefully – loved, nurtured, sacrificed, educated and cared for them. I shared at…

I came across a story online this week that caught my attention. The headline read, Woman Embalmed, Bronzed in Favorite Pew. There was even a photo. The by line read MOSCOW, Idaho — Longtime church-goer Gert Rizzoli was so devoted to her spot in the pew at Featherside Congregational Church that when she passed away…

Having been born in Boston and growing up in Brookline less than three miles from the Boston Marathon finish line, the events of last week were very difficult for me. My connection to Boston is very strong. In the wake of the tragedy that happened at the conclusion of the Marathon and in the days…

Today’s encounter between the disciples and Jesus happens after the empty tomb of Easter morning; after Jesus appeared among the fearful disciples who had locked themselves in a house and said to them “Peace be with you.”  After Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  It happens after Jesus appears to them…