Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Why the 23rd Psalm? Why is that the Psalm that is the favorite to so many people? Why was that the one you had to memorize in Sunday School? I did, when I was a kid. I remember going home one day and telling my mother […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Ezekiel 18:25: “The way of the Lord is unfair.” This sounds like last week’s sermon, doesn’t it? Last week I preached on the parable of the workers in the vineyard and claimed that, when it comes to God’s grace, God is unfair. Ezekiel (speaking the word […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Last week marked my eighth anniversary of your pastor. Prior to Canton, I was in Cleveland. Prior to Cleveland, I was in Kansas City. I’ll never forget an incident I experienced in my Kansas City church after I delivered a sermon on the Gospel Lesson we […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Today’s readings from Romans and Matthew speak of judgment and mercy. There are many ways to think about these concepts. Let’s take judgment, for example. When we think of that word, we may think of a defendant in court, standing in judgment before the judge. We […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” The closing line from today’s Gospel lesson. We often take this to mean that no matter how many people gather for worship, Jesus is there even if there is only two […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio One day when George W. Bush was President, Air Force One was flying over a desert. They saw a man with a staff dressed in a robe below — literally in the middle of nowhere. The plane landed and the President gave orders to retrieve the […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio The late Christian singer-songwriter Rich Mullins used to say that he loved the Bible, but not for the reasons that most people do. He said that he liked all the “weirdos” that appear in both the Old and New Testaments. Maybe that’s because Mullins was a […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Religion is a strange, universal phenomenon. Throughout history, it has given people hope in times of doubt, fear, and grief. It has helped explained the origins of life and the vastness of the cosmos. It has also been the source of conflict, intolerance, and even war. […]
Pentecost 8 Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Many cultures have folktales about finding a lantern, rubbing it, and having a genie pop out. The genie grants the lucky finder three wishes. What would be your three wishes? Health, wealth, fame, power? Let’s say instead, that God appeared before you and said […]
Pentecost 7 Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2020, Dr. Tamilio Of all the social and political controversies that surround us in twenty-first century America, the one that staggers me the most is the environmental crisis. Every environmental scientist agrees that there is a problem, although they may disagree about the extent of the problem […]