Sermons by Bob Tussing (Page 3)
September 27, 2020
September 27, 2020 Exodus 17:1-7 Matthew 21:23-32 Jesus entered the temple courts and while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” I was a student minister at a church out west. I was in the middle of my theological studies and took the my third year of studies to work full time for this church. I…
September 13, 2020
September 13, 2020 Genesis 50:15-21 Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” That is how it is recorded in the New International Version of the Bible but in the New English Bible it says, Jesus said to him, “I tell you not up to seven times, but up to…
August 30, 2020
August 30, 2020 “Divine Things” Luke 16:21-28 Said Jesus to Peter… For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. It’s all about shifting gears from one line of thinking to another. In this case it is Peter thinking of human things and not thinking of the things of God. Shifting gears. My brother-in-law told the simple and probably not so unique story of his brother. His brother fought in Viet Nam, served his tour…
August 23, 2020
Exodus 1:8-2:10 Romans 12:1-8 Matthew 16:13-20 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” I am struck by two things, the first of which is the image of Peter being the rock on which the church of Jesus is built. The second is that Jesus invokes the notion of Hades or Hell in this passage. Not even Hades will be able to…
August 8, 2020
August 9, 2020 “The Deep Surrounded Me” Jonah 2:1-9 Matthew 14:22-33 A couple years ago we took a group of 10 youth to Germany. The easy part was flying from Columbus to Germany. The easy part was climbing the tower stairs of the 13th century church. The easy part was learning how to negotiate the wonderful train system of the country. But the devil was in the details. The hard part came when you did not understand the electrical outlets.…
August 2, 2020
August 2, 2020 Matthew 14 In one of my first ministry callings, I was in the mountains of NE Washington State. Isolation. Mountains. Streams. Great distances from one town to another. My nearest UCC colleagues were 60 miles south in New Port and 60 miles to the West in Colville. It was isolated. For a number of years some seminary colleagues who had ministries in the big cities of Washington and California would hold a week long retreat for study,…
July 19, 2020
July 19, 2020 “The Wheat and the Weeds” Isaiah 44:6-8 Matthew 13:24-30 In todays passage from Matthew 13:10 we have the disciples coming to Jesus and asking him :”Why do you speak to (the people) in parables?” Basically what Jesus says in answer to that is: you must listen AND understand; look AND perceive and then understand with your heart. So then, today’s reading in Matthew offers us a parable and also the reading for today is about the reason…
June 28, 2020
“Welcome” Genesis 22:1-14 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Todays passage from the Gospel of Matthew reminds us that whoever welcomes you welcomes Jesus and whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes the one who sent him…meaning the creator God. Welcome a friend, welcome a stranger and you are welcoming Jesus. It’s much like the benediction: may you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet and may everyone you meet see the face of Christ in you. That is exactly what…
June 14, 2020
Just think about this for a moment. The Gospel reading for this morning gives us an idea of what Jesus’ life is like…when he was in full stride with his life’s ministry. We see Jesus…traveling about, teaching, proclaiming good news, curing disease and sickness. And…he had compassion for the people to whom he was ministering. After all…the Gospel of Matthew says, “He has compassion for them because the were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.” Raise your hand…
