Matthew 14: 13-21 Isaiah 55: 1-5 Erica Schemper Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, San Carlos, CA “It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind I sometimes [...]
Jeremiah 29:4-9 Woodside Road UMC, Redwood City, CA I’m not going to lie: I spend too much time on the interwebs. In my defense, after years of being a pastor, an extrovert who likes being with people, a thinker who likes talking about big ideas, I am now a stay at home parent, and I [...]
listen to mp3 of “Jesus Saw Her” Luke 7:11-17 1 Kings 17:1-24 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church When people ask me what it’s like to live in the San Francisco area, I tell them about the wonderful things: the weather, the mountains, the ocean, the city. I say, “I can be at the beach or in [...]
listen to mp3 file of “Overcome by the Water” I Kings 18:20-39 Psalm 96 Luke 7:1-10 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church The baptismal font in which I baptized the most children (including two of my own) is in a Presbyterian church in Geneva, IL. It is huge. The font bowl, made of heavy, patina-ed bronze, is [...]
listen to mp3 file of “The Big Ask” John 2:1-11 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church As we lift our faces to the sky and give thanks for the California rain (and hope and pray that this is abundance, enough, for thirsty land) Another story about water… You’ve heard about the water in Flint, Michigan? After city [...]
Psalm 1 Mark 9:33-37 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church I’ve known Psalm 1 forever. I learned a sung version of it for a children’s church musical when I was in first grade: I’ve got roots going down to the waters, I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine, I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has [...]
listen to mp3 file of “Underwater Basketweaving” John 15:9-17 (Easter 6B) Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Dear Friends, This sermon is a story about fruit, and what can happen when someone loves people enough to take care of them, and to water them with the Spirit. Friday morning, when I had a few hours when I [...]
Matthew 10:40-42 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church This past week, I’ve been living with some tension about this text from Matthew. In a few days, a good friend of mine and her husband and daughter will arrive to spend a few days with us…I want everything to be as near perfect as possible, but I’m a [...]
Luke 4:21-30 Jeremiah 1:4-19 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church San Carlos, CA Prophetic speaking is hard work. It’s hard to hear the call; it’s hard to carry through and speak the truth; and then there are the consequences when people actually hear what your going to say. And, it’s also no wonder that, when we hear [...]
Psalm 146 Hebrews 11:13-16 July 1, 2012 Park Ridge Community Church, Park Ridge, IL It’s a basic human question: In whom do you trust? Before we know how to string that sentence together, before we can speak, it’s one of the questions we have to answer: What makes you feel safe? Where do you place [...]