Sermon archive for category: Rev. Tony Wike

On Christmas morning, the Rev. Tony Wike considers Luke 2:1-14: “We’re aware that neither the world nor this nation is really at peace but is deeply divided. We’re aware that many of God’s children still long for justice and righteousness, and so we ask ‘Where is the change? Where is the peace? Where is the hope?'”

The Rev. Tony Wike discusses Matthew 22:34-46 and the greatest commandment: “Loving our neighbor as ourselves is an attitude of caring for others genuinely, of taking the needs of others seriously and without judgment, beginning at home and extending to our neighbors near and far, friend and enemy, us and them.”

… Vincent Donovan, who was a missionary to the Masai people in Tanzania many years ago, … was teaching the people there about the seven sacraments of the church, and described a sacrament as a physical encounter or event in which you experience the transcendent or grace or the holy… (Exodus 3:1-15)

The Rev. Tony Wike considers Romans 8:26-39: “The question for us, given that sometimes things happen that leave us broken and wounded, is ‘what is God doing to bring about the greatest good possible?’ — not to make the situation go away but to redeem the situation and thereby reveal God’s love for the world and God’s presence in it.”

The Rev. Tony Wike considers Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7: “Laughter in response to God’s grace rings throughout this beautiful, ancient book of Genesis… and throughout Scripture in various ways.”

The Rev. Tony Wike contemplates Abraham’s calling and the lessons for the second Sunday in Lent (Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; and John 3:1-17).

The Rev. Tony Wike considers Luke 2:1-14: “As we gather here this morning, we bring with us all the hopes and fears of the past years — in some ways, the accumulation of all the hopes and fears of our lives… Scripture tells us that the very first Christmas happened in a mood of fear as well.”

Luke 14:25-33
A couple of months ago, I shared some thoughts on who we are and who we want to be… Today, I want to share some thoughts on how we define ourselves as individuals…. We have so many ways of defining our identity… But one way we determine our identity that stands out from the rest is our possessions, our stuff, and Jesus says we have to give it all up…

Luke 10:25-37
… Amid all the turmoil and tragedy of recent weeks and months, there’s one line that keeps getting repeated: “That is not who we are.” So today I think we might spend a few moments with the question, “if that is not who were are, then who are we? Who do we want to be?” And since the Lectionary has given us the parable of the Good Samaritan, we might as well start there.

Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8
Memory is an amazing thing, isn’t it? The ability to store vast amounts of information in your head — not just factual information… but also personal experiences, sensations, emotions, the way things felt to us… These things that happened in the past and our memory of them continue to shape our identity and give our life meaning…