Sunday, November 26, 2023 – Christ the King Sunday
Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24; Psalm 95:1-7a; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46 The Rev. Drew Brislin The season of Christmas movies has kicked into full gear. They seem to be starting them earlier and earlier, even broadcasting new ones during Christmas in July campaigns. While the story lines vary there are inevitably at least one or two if not […]
Sunday, October 22, 2023 – Pentecost 21
Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22 The Rev. Drew Brislin As Veteran’s Day approaches, a particular movie that is always played, especially on channels like Turner Movie Classics, is the 1941 Oscar winning Sergeant York starring Gary Cooper. It is based on the true story of a rugged Appalachian farmer from Tennessee named […]
Sunday, October 8, 2023 – Pentecost 19
Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:7-14; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46 The Rev. Drew Brislin As I was thinking about this morning’s Gospel reading and its agricultural aspects, I could not help but be drawn back to memories of some of my earliest school projects and science experiments that included plants. From watching celery soak up food dye, to […]
Sunday, September 17, 2023 – Pentecost 16
Genesis 50:15-21; Psalm 103:8-13; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35 The Rev. Drew Brislin “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but […]
Sunday, August 20, 2023 – Pentecost 12
Isaiah 56:1,6-8; Psalm 67 Romans 11:1-2a,29-32; Matthew 15:21-28 The Rev. Drew Brislin I have mentioned before that one of mine and Allison’s favorite things to do here in Montgomery is to support our local neighborhood theater The Capri. Having run into some of you there, I know we are not alone in our affinity for […]
Sunday, July 30, 2023 – Pentecost 9
1 Kings 3:5-12; Psalm 119:129-136 Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 The Rev. Drew Brislin July can often be an especially taxing month for me emotionally. My father’s birthday is July 21st and so he would have turned seventy-five this year and then just a few days later, on July 27th I remember him on the anniversary of […]
Sunday, July 9, 2023 – Pentecost 6
Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-15; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19,25-30 The Rev. Drew Brislin This past week I was with Allison in her hometown of Maryville, TN. While out running errands one day we visited the local mall. It dawned on me that it has been years since I have visited an actual mall. In my youth like […]
Sunday, June 25, 2023 – Pentecost 4
Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 69:7-10 (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 The Rev. Drew Brislin Preachers sometimes refer to this reading in jest as Jesus’ sermon on family dynamics. I’m glad today is not Father’s Day because trying to explain ‘whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me’ might have been a […]
Sunday, May 21, 2023 – Easter 7
Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10,33-36; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11, John 17:1-11 The Rev. Drew Brislin After retiring from teaching for more than thirty years in the Dallas County School System, my dad and my stepmother decided like so many folks to retire to the beach. My dad spent many of those years teaching junior high band […]
Sunday, April 23, 2023 – Easter 3
Acts 2: 14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35 The Rev. Drew Brislin Earlier this week I had the pleasure of visiting with one of my seminary classmates and her family. We met in Tuscaloosa as she and her husband were in town with their daughter to visit the University of Alabama […]