For over thirty years Alan Neale has spoken with passion, relevance, authenticity and humor of themes that are profound and pressing; the profound he makes simple and accessible, the pressing he makes immediate and welcoming. All these years past have provided little time for Alan to write extensively and so now he begins a long-postponed desire and there are many themes waiting to be translated into books; the task is daunting and enthralling and he longs to begin in 2015
So… it seems I was so excited to get to the theme of the sermon that I felt entitled to miss the reading of the Gospel! Suddenly it occurred to me that something was missing and so, until I learn how to edit the recording, for this post you hear Gospel and sermon. There was… Continue reading
So, what is it that makes Jesus irritated, frustrated… even angry? Well, today’s Gospel from Mark 10 gives us an answer because it is when the disciples try to bar people from meeting Jesus that Jesus becomes angry. So… beware, gatekeepers of the Lord. During the sermon I became deeply aware of all those I… Continue reading
Yet another text preached on for the first time in 41 years of parish ministry – this is all getting quite exciting! Below the sermon audio is the sermon text – the latter is expanded a little in the former! Sermon preached at Trinity Church, Newport RI Sunday September 23rd 2018 The Reverend Alan Neale… Continue reading
At long last (over four decades) I get to preach on the intriguing and sometimes frustrating Psalm 45, one of the royal psalms. We need our hearts to be stirred by noble things so we can be transformed and then empowered to be noble people and do noble things. The sermon text follows the sermon… Continue reading
The two texts to which I refer in today’s sermon are texts that have long intrigued and engaged me; I am so joyfully fortunate to have yet another opportunity to preach a sermon on texts… for the first time ever! The sermon text (basically) follows after the sermon audio. Sermon preached at Trinity Church, Newport,… Continue reading
Rev. Alan Neale is amazing. We did a lot of research before choosing an officiant and we did not like how “commercialized” many of them were as we were reading reviews, scoping their websites out, etc. Alan brings every aspect one could possibly want their ceremony to entail, to the table. Admittedly we only met… Continue reading
The passage from 2 Samuel 12 where Nathan confronts David is a powerful, challenging story. It deals with the uncovering of power abuse and truth denial. I heard yesterday that most of us struggle in some way from being abused… though the perpetrators come in different forms both outside and even within. We should covet… Continue reading
Truly from a bountiful array of possible sermon themes, I felt the Lord lead to a particular theme this morning “He/Christ is our Peace.” As I heard the rain pouring on dry ground so I thought of how often our lives are so thirsty for peace. The sermon text is below the sermon audio (they… Continue reading
This past weekend I had the great joy of officiating at five weddings… beginning Friday evening, then to Saturday morning and evening and then Sunday afternoon and evening. Each was so different from the others but a common theme remains… the wonder of commitment and the embrace of vulnerability all in the name of love…. Continue reading
I think the concept that Jesus (Son of God, Son of Man) can be amazed, shocked about anything is in itself… amazing and shocking. No wonder that such a human characteristic is found in the very human Gospel of Mark. Like many sermons there were themes that once outlined, I wanted to pursue with vigor…… Continue reading