Facebook.com/TedCarnahan
LinkedIn.com/in/TedCarnahan
Twitter.com/TedCarnahan
The First and the Last
Occasion: Pentecost 16, Year B
Text: Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
This sermon was prepared for services at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sterling, IL on September 16 and 20.
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
It’s a funny story this week, or at least tragically funny. The disciples are trailing behind Jesus. Jesus is talking – teaching about the kingdom of God and what it means to be a servant of everyone and why that’s so crucial to God’s kingdom. The disciples, trailing behind, aren’t paying attention. In fact, while Jesus is preaching about servanthood, they’re arguing about who’s the greatest. If it wasn’t so sad, it’d be hilarious.
The Body of Christ, Given for You
Occasion: Pentecost 11, Year B
Text: John 6.51-58
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
This sermon was prepared for services at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sterling, IL on August 12 and 16 and for services at three local nursing homes.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing in our Gospel readings about Jesus being the “bread of life.” Last week, Jesus’ hearers were shocked because he said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “No, Jesus, you don’t really mean that. You don’t mean that you are bread. We know you. You’re Joe and Mary Nazereth’s boy. We watched you grow up. My kids were on the same softball team as you – you’re nothing special. You delivered our kitchen table out of your Pop’s workshop a couple of years ago. So just who do you think you are?”
This week, we get an even more shocking statement: “…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Something Isn’t Kosher
Occasion: Pentecost 2, Year B
Text: Ezekiel 17.22-24, Mark 4.26-34
This sermon was preached at Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Columbia, MO on 13-14 June 2009.
For the last couple of years, Jennifer and I have been dreaming about having a house of our own. We dream about what it would be like to build our own house – sometimes we think big, more often we dream about a really tiny house that has everything built-in and packed in tightly. But no matter where we dream of being, no matter what kind of house or family we envision, one thing always stays the same – we’re going to have a garden. We’ll grow food and flowers, perhaps keeping a patch of the lawn for wild grasses – heck, with any luck, there won’t be much of a lawn to mow at all. I say that because, in all seriousness, as much as I want Jennifer to have the garden that she dreams of, I harbor a terrible secret in my heart: I hate yard work.
Born Again
Occasion: Pentecost 1, Holy Trinity Sunday, Year B
Text: John 3.1-17
This sermon was preached at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Manchester, MO on 7 June 2009.
About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity of a lifetime – I got to travel with a group of students from Wartburg Seminary on a trip to the Holy Land. We spent about a week in Bethlehem and stayed at Christmas Lutheran Church just up the street from where Jesus was born. Then we went up to the Galilee for a few days to see some important ruins, and finally we went back down to Jerusalem for a week. Jerusalem was fantastic. Not only did we get to visit old churches and holy sites in the Old City, but we also got to learn more about issues of justice and peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians. We also got to roam around the city a bit and shop for souvenirs.
The True Vine
Occasion: Easter 5, Year B
Text: John 15.1-8
This sermon was preached at East Iron Hill Community Church, Maquoketa, IA, on 10 May 2009.
Mother’s Day isn’t easy for some people – it wasn’t easy for Jennifer and I for a long time. We were married at the end of 2004, and after about a year of wedded bliss, we decided to get started on our family. We thought that it couldn’t be too hard, after all people turn up pregnant all the time who weren’t even trying to get that way. We went out and bought little odds and ends we were sure we’d need when the baby came. We dreamed, we planned, we saved – and we were so sure it was going to work out. Time passed. Months turned into years. Things did not work out for a very, very long time. And as Mother’s Day rolled by in 2006 and 2007 and 2008, those were dark days for us. When you so desperately want to be a mother or a father, and you see people being celebrated for that, and you can’t – through no fault of your own – it’s a terrible experience.
Copyright 2006-2010 Ted Carnahan. Except where noted, the content of this site is licensed under CC-SA-BY.