Sermons at Lawrencefield Church
The following is a collection of recent sermons written and delivered (unless otherwise noted) by the Rev. Cynthia Byers Walter at Lawrencefield Parish Church. Each can be downloaded and viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
4/29/12 :: ALTERNATIVE REALITY (Easter 4) — A person who really lives the 23rd Psalm has access to an alternative reality.
4/15/12 :: REALLY BELIEVE (Easter 2) — How does what you say you believe compare with what you really believe?
4/7/12 :: NOT HERE (Easter Vigil) — Easter makes the most audacious claim of many audacious claims of the Christian faith.
4/6/12 :: LIFE SIZE (Good Friday) — For one day at least, religion fits.
4/5/12 :: REMEMBERING JESUS (Maundy Thursday) — If we wanted to erect a memorial to Jesus, what would it look like?
4/1/12 :: SAD (Passion (Palm) Sunday) — Holy Week is just too sad. But is that bad?
3/25/12 :: BE GLORIFIED (Lent 5) — Can anything human make God more … God?
3/18/12 :: PENITENTS ANONYMOUS (Lent 4) — If you want to know what penitence really means, go to an AA meeting.
3/11/12 :: JESUS GETS ANGRY (Lent 3) — Jesus gets angry when the Temple begins to look like a 4-H expo. But the issue isn’t really about who’s going to do the mucking out.
3/4/12 :: GLORIOUS MERCY (Lent 2) — If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Well, sign me up!
2/26/12 :: OY, WILDERNESS (Lent 1) — Were Jesus' wild beasts like our wild beasts?
2/22/12 :: THOU, O HUMAN (Ash Wednesday) — Lent is not per se a time to dwell on our sinfulness, or to focus on our holiness, but to address whatever it is that blocks intimacy between ourselves and God
2/19/12 :: FAITHFUL AND TRANSFIGURED (Epiphany Last) — Sorry, there is no magic bullet that will turn every parish into a mega church. What there is, is …
2/12/12 :: HEED AND BE HEALED (Epiphany 6) — Is anger a sin? Can anger be a blessing?
1/29/12 :: WHY WE NEED CHURCH (Epiphany 4) — "I'm a very spiritual person." Well, who isn't?
1/22/12 :: PROCLAMATION (Epiphany 3) — If anything, the increasing secularity of our society has increased the public nature of Christianity. What will we do about that?
1/15/12 :: COMMON PRAYER (Epiphany 2) — All prayer, even private prayer, is Common Prayer. Or should be.
1/8/12 :: "WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME?" (Epiphany 1 – Baptism of Our Lord) — A lesson about Baptism via a good ol' country boy from New Jersey
12/24/11 :: GOD'S BELLY BUTTON (Christmas Eve) — God's coming into the world as Jesus starts a whole new conversation with God's people. And creation will never be the same again.
12/18/11 :: HELLO, MY LOVE (Advent 4) — Do you have conversations with God? I assume that question means something entirely different to you than to the usual garden-variety fruitcake.
12/11/11 :: VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS (Advent 3) — "What do you have to say for yourself?" This could be a question for us today. This should be a question for us today.
12/4/11 :: THE MYSTERY OF JBAP'S POPULARITY (Advent 2) — John the Baptist's stand-by sermon was: STOP SINNING! Yet people flocked to him. Why?
11/27/11 :: DATE NIGHT (Advent 1) — In Advent season, Christians are in training for Christmas (not, incidentally, the Christmas Shopping Season.) Of course, for the purposes of Advent, Christmas is understood in one specific sense.
11/20/11 :: HERE IS YOUR KING (Pentecost Last—Christ the King) — Who's your Daddy?
11/13/11 :: YOU GOT FEET (Pentecost 22) — You need grace as much as you need your feet. And for a lot of the same reasons.
11/6/11 :: MAKE A BIT OF HEAVEN (Pentecost 21) — What sort of decision-maker are you? And by the way, are you ready for heaven?
10/23/11 :: AS YOURSELF (Pentecost 19) — “Love your neighbor as yourself:” Nice idea, but is it even possible?
10/16/11 :: GODLY COINAGE (Pentecost 18) — The image we carry in our hearts helps define who we are and who we become. In this sense, image is everything.
10/9/11 :: YOU ARE INVITED... (Pentecost 17) — There is a difference between the ideas of earning God's love, which is not possible, and investing one's life in God's love, which is.
10/2/11 :: CONVENTION SUNDAY SERMON FOR CONGREGATIONS (Pentecost 16) — Annual Pastoral Letter from the Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia.
9/25/11 :: RESPONSIBILITY AND LIBERATION (Pentecost 15) — Your history forms you but doesn't bind you. This is both an admonition, and a message of liberation, both judgment and mercy.
9/18/11 :: “YOURS! YOURS! YOURS! YOURS!” (Pentecost 14) — A reading from Matthew and a movie about fish contain lessons on how not to behave.
9/11/11 :: FORGIVE AND FORGET REMEMBER (Pentecost 13) — How do we reconcile remembrance and forgiveness, especially today, on September 11, 2011?
9/4/11 :: WE GATHER (Pentecost 12) — This story has everything: a brave teenaged girl, Nazis, Spanish oppression, American history, and the presence of Christ.
8/28/11 :: HERE'S THE DEAL (Pentecost 11) — We believers sometimes assume we have a deal with God. Do we?
8/21/11 :: WEIGHT LOSS AND DIVINE ARCHITECTURE (Pentecost 10) — A sermon on the sensitive topic of weight loss, and the lessons it holds for the Christian life.
8/14/11 :: PRAYER PROJECTS (Pentecost 9) — What about those prayer projects that seem to drag on for years and years without, apparently, being answered?
8/7/11 :: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? (Pentecost 8 -- St. Laurence Day - transferred) — People used to go to the stake for the sake of little more than punctuation in the translation of the creed. Surely that stuff doesn't matter any more?
7/31/11 :: NO SMALL TALK! (Pentecost 7) — Sorry, small churches, but the “We're too small” stuff doesn't fly. Of course we're too small when the project is transforming all creation! Get over it!
7/10/11 :: AUNTIE GOD (Pentecost 4) — How is God like a wealthy, dotty maiden aunt? (No disrespect intended to either!)
7/3/11 :: GORDIAN KNOT (Pentecost 3) — I want to do the right thing but I can't seem to help doing the wrong things. Agggh!
6/26/11 :: PROPHETS WANTED (Pentecost 2) — You don't need the gift of foresight or a hotline to heaven to be a prophet.
6/19/11 :: FLORIBUNDANCE (Pentecost 1- Trinity Sunday) — God, the Holy Trinity, is more like a floribunda rose than a hybrid tea.
6/12/11 :: RETENTION SPAN (Day of Pentecost) — You've heard the expression, “You are what you eat?” That's not necessarily true. You are what you retain.
6/5/11 :: SUPPLY LINES (Easter 7 – Sunday after Ascension) — Behind every successful general is a good supply line. (In God, we have the best!) But a good supply line does not guarantee a successful general.
5/22/11 :: THE VISION OF HEAVEN (Easter 5) — Is it a sin to get angry?
5/15/11 :: ACTS OF EASTER 3 – TABLE TO TABLE (Easter 4) — The early church was a group of people who did not observe their faith only at temple, but also at table.
5/8/11 :: ACTS OF EASTER 2 – LISTEN TO YOUR HEART (Easter 3) — On this Mother's Day, listen to your Mom, then listen to your heart.