Sunday, March 10, 2019 ~ Lent I Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor Sermon Series on the Seven Last “Words” of Christ “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” ~ Luke 23:34 © 2019, Dr. Tamilio According to the chronology of the seven last “words” of Christ, which is not at all clear, […]
Sunday, February 17, 2019 ~ Epiphany VI Sermon: “It All Hangs on the Tomb” Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 © 2019, Dr. Tamilio Easter is nine weeks away, but here we are: reading Paul and talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You could ponder the corpus of the Apostle’s writings and would be hard-pressed […]
Sunday, February 10, 2019 ~ Epiphany V Sermon: “Calling the Least Likely” Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 © 2019, Dr. Tamilio Last week we talked about Jeremiah — actually, I showed you how Daniel 8:5-8 foretold that the Patriots would beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, and I was right. Never doubt anything I […]
Sunday, February 3, 2019 ~ Epiphany IV Sermon: “Called to Prophesy and to Love” Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30 © 2019, Dr. Tamilio Today’s Lectionary readings read like a Bible’s greatest hits list. The passage from Jeremiah is the prophet’s call narrative. In it he balks at God’s call even though he […]
Sunday, January 27, 2019 ~ Epiphany III Sermon: “Not Some Hocus Pocus” Gospel Lesson: John 2:1-11 © 2018, Dr. Tamilio I teach a class at Salem State University entitled The Philosophy of Religion. The underlying question that governs the readings, lectures, and discussions is, “Can one construct an argument to prove (or at least point […]
Sunday, January 13, 2019 ~ Baptism of Christ Sermon: “What Is This All About?” Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 © 2018, Dr. Tamilio When the Rigoli’s chose today for the baptism of Cecelia, I wonder if they knew that it was the day on the liturgical calendar when we commemorate Jesus’ baptism. How serendipitous! Here […]
Sunday, January 6, 2019 ~ All Saints Sunday Gospel Lesson: Sermon: “Presence” Matthew 2:1-12 © 2018, Dr. Tamilio If you attended the pageant a few weeks ago, you saw the Oscar-quality performance I gave playing Herod — how I died after giving instructions to the Wise Men to find the new born King of the […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor Sunday, November 25, 2018 ~ Christ the King Sunday Sermon: “Two Crowns” © 2018, Dr. Tamilio This is an interesting day. Because of the way the days fell on the calendar this year, we have a week between Thanksgiving Sunday and the First Sunday of Advent. Christ the King Sunday […]
Temple B’nai Tikvah Interfaith Service Sunday, November 18, 2018 Sermon: “An Attitude of Gratitude” Dr. John Tamilio III © 2018, Dr. Tamilio I bring you greetings on behalf of the members and friends of the Congregational Church of Canton and our denomination: the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. We Congregationalists are the […]
Thanksgiving Sunday, November 18, 2018 Sermon: “Our Holy Day” Dr. John Tamilio III © 2018, Dr. Tamilio I A friend of mine, who is a rabbi in Kansas City, often says that Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday, because it is the only interfaith religious holiday that we have. Now to some extent, he is absolutely correct. Americans […]