Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
[1st Thessalonians 5:11, NRSV]
Are you tired of being judged? Are you as frustrated as I am about the polarized, shouting-matches that comprise the “balanced and fair” news outlets on TV? Is your soul as thirsty as mine for a set of convictions that encourage the good in people – a forum celebrating those myriad things which resonate universally with all people of good will? Do you prize encouragement over criticism? Are you willing to forgo condemnation and be open to correction? Have you reached a plain where you truly want to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly?
Well, that’s what this website is all about. My name is James Barnhill, and I am an Episcopal Priest. I am absolutely committed to serving my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I have found myself at such odds with fellow Christians over so many things – things that seem to be obscuring my vision of the all-loving face of Jesus, the Christ who loved absolutely everybody, the Son of God who never turned anyone away.
On this website you will find several things. One page is devoted to sermons based on the readings featured in the 3-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary, a schedule of Bible passages designed to read through salient features of the Old and New Testaments over a three-year period. This schedule is in widespread use by many churches over a variety of denominations, including the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the United Methodist Church, and many congregations of the Roman Catholic Church. All of these sermons are brief – under 1,500 words that will fit on both sides of a normal 8½-by-11 inch piece of paper. They shouldn’t take more than five minutes to read, and about twice that amount of time if you want to listen to the audio version.
Another page on this website is dedicated to short stories about people doing good things. You might think of these as modern parables based on verses from Scripture.
On another page, I will be posting various Bible studies which are designed either to be used individually or in group format. These are intended to focus on the joyous, inclusive, humble nature of what is truly the Good News of living a full, redeemed life through faith in an all-loving God.
All of the materials on this website are intended to be uplifting, inclusive, and blessings for people who truly just want to love everyone as Jesus loved us. I truly hope that you will be encouraged by what you experience here.
God’s peace be with you always!
