Entries by Tom James
Sermon Series: What Does Faith Mean Today? (Hebrews)
Sermon series, “What does faith mean today?”, no. 1, “The courage to stand alone” (Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, Pentecost + 9C, August 11, 2019 Tom James “He marches to the beat of his own drum.” “She keeps her own counsel.” “He’s a bit of an odd duck.” We’ve all heard these kinds […]
Sermon Series: Growing in Faith (Colossians)
Sermon Series, “How to Grow in Faith,” no. 1, Trust the process (Colossians 1.1-14) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, 5th Sunday after Pentecost, July 14, 2019 Tom James I will say that the sermon title for this morning is a little insensitive. A little coachy, you might say. In fact, it comes from a line that […]
Sermon Series: What is Freedom? (Galatians)
Series, “What is Freedom?” (1) Freedom is maturity (Galatians 3.23-29) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost C, June 23, 2019 Tom James What is freedom, and what does it have to do with Christian faith? That’s the topic over the next three weeks or so. Summer is a time when tend to think […]
The spirit in the church (Acts 2.1-21, 41-47)
The Spirit in the church (Acts 2.1-21, 41-47) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, Pentecost C, June 9, 2019 Tom James Some people call today “the birthday of the church,” and they celebrate it with banners and balloons. I don’t think that’s quite accurate, because the church has existed wherever and whenever the faithful have gathered. But […]
No time for paitence? (Revelation 22.12-21)
No Time for Patience? (Revelation 22.12-21) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, Easter 7C/May 8, 2016 Tom James About ten years ago, there was a video clip that went viral. It was of a woman who had come out of her house, I believe because of a fire. In the course of her telling about her experience, […]
The gospel railroad (John 5.1-9)
One of our favorite Christmas movies is The Polar Express. It is the story of a group of kids of very diverse backgrounds and personalities, each of whom goes to bed one Christmas Eve, only to find that a train has stopped in their front yard, in the middle of the night, and seems to […]
God insists (John 13.31-35)
Rarely do I do any kind of shopping with my whole family, and almost never on purpose. But, occasionally, circumstances will put us together in a Meijer, or a Target, usually on the way home from somewhere when we suddenly realize that one of us needs something for tomorrow. Often this realization takes the form […]
Who rules? (Revelation 5.11-14)
Who rules? (Revelation 5.11-14) Eastminster United Presbyterian Church, Easter 3C (May 5, 2019) Tom James Our family just grew by about two pounds this weekend, and it had nothing to do with the delayed effects of Easter candy. We adopted a chinchilla, at my youngest’s request (and pleading!). So now, we have two fish, two […]
