Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 21:25-36 Shaken! I know what it is like to be shaken. When I was a kid my family lived, for a time, in this long brick ranch house.   It was built, I suspect, as something of a mansion; but by the time my family bought it, it needed some updates and some repairs.   But the main issue was that the neighborhood had changed.   Not in the way people often mean that; it had changed from what was probably an old forest to something one might describe as “shabby industrial.”   By the time we moved in there was a junk yard next door, which frequently smelled of burning tires.   And in the hills, just a few hundred yards above the house, there was a coal mining site.    Why I suspect the house was very nice when it was built, was because it still had, by the time we moved in, some very nice finishes.   The kitchen had these beautiful cherry cabinets.   The living room had a huge picture window.   And the dining room had this surprisingly

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Hebrews 10:11-25 What Now? What now? That is the question the author of Hebrews poses today. What now? Through the work and sacrifice of Jesus, we are invited into the very presence of God.   Through the waters of baptism, our hearts are sprinkled clean; our bodies are washed with pure water.   By the mercy of God our sins are forgiven and forgotten.   By the love of God, we find shelter in the sacred heart of Jesus. We who were not a people are now a people. We who were once strangers are now family. We who are mere mortals are, through our participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus, through the waters of baptism, made members of the body of Christ and are held in the grip of God's immense love forever.   Amazing!   But what now? That is the question.   After all, we are washed entirely clean in those life-giving waters, we are locked into the family of God forever, God has formed with us a bond that is indi