St. John’s Practicing One Anothering

Sunday, January 31, 2016 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Proclaimer: Rev. Dennis W. Foust, PhD Sermon: St. John’s Practicing One Anothering Scripture: Romans 15:2-7; Ephesians 4:31-5:2; 1 Peter 4:8-10; 1 John 4:7-16 Exactly 2.5 miles from this room, in the Third Ward of Uptown Charlotte, is a seldom mentioned extremely important patch of grass. It is where the Charlotte […]

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Why One Anothering Matters

Sunday, January 17, 2016 – Second Sunday after Epiphany Proclaimer: Rev. Dennis W. Foust, PhD Sermon: Why One Anothering Matters Scripture: Romans 12:1-18 God created the local church to help us become the people God has created us to become. Carl Sandburg wrote about an old French town where the mayor ordered the people to hang […]

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Baptized into One Anothering

Sunday, January 10, 2016 – Baptism of the Lord Proclaimer: Rev. Dennis W. Foust, PhD Sermon: Baptized Into One Anothering Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-15; 12:12-13 First, consider what baptism says about commitment. Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth approached his cousin, John the Baptizer, beside the Jordan River. Jesus entered what is called a ‘mikveh;’ […]

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Gospel of Mark 6:1-6 and 9:14-29 Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide, November 1, 2015 Sermon 2 of 5 in a Sermon Series Entitled, ‘Compassion as Living Theology’ In his recent book, The Christmas Heist, St. John’s member Landis Wade tells the story of Henry Edmonds, a friendly-looking old man who believes in Santa Claus. You will […]

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To Be a Spiritually Focused Church

Once upon a time, a small town that had been historically ‘dry,’ awakened one morning to find an empty storefront on Main Street opened as a bar. The Christians planned an all-night prayer meeting asking God to intervene and close the bar. During that night, lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. […]

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To Be a Spiritually Renewing Church

Amidst the hillsides and farms of southern Indiana, sets St. Meinrad Archabbey. Dr. Bill Leonard guided my second visit to St. Meinrad, in 1982. My first journey to St. Meinrad was seven years earlier, as a university student majoring in religion. Our professor took us there for a three-day spiritual retreat with Benedictine monks. I […]

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To Be a Spiritually Literate Church

Can we talk? I am not impersonating the late comedienne, Joan Rivers. My question calls us to be fully honest as we begin our journey to Easter Sunday. Our six-week pilgrimage through Lent is an annual invitation to spiritual renewal that begins with honesty. As days ‘lengthen’ (lencten), the curtains of darkness are pushed back […]

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