Call Me a Fool

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | November 6, 2022 1st Corinthians 1:18-25 One time I was at a three-day meeting. It was one of those meetings where ministers and church folk gathered for renewal. It was comprised of folks from what were called, “Priority Area Churches.” A priority area was defined as a…

There is Still A Vision

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 30, 2022 Habakkuk 1:1-4 & 2:1-4 When I began practicing karate, one of the early lessons I learned was that it hurts when you get hit. I was paired up with a guy who had a third-degree black belt; and he kept hitting me in the…

Common Ground

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 23, 2022 Luke 18:9-14 One day when I was three years old, I found a penny on the floor. I held it in my hand. I put it in my pocket. Two doors down there was a corner grocery with penny candy machines outside. I needed…

Until Justice is Served

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 16, 2022 Luke 18:1-8 One Sunday a few months after starting my work in Glasgow, I was greeting folks at the door as they left church. One couple showed me a picture of their grandson Gordon, fresh in his uniform of the Royal Highland Fusiliers. He…

On Gratitude

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 9, 2022 Luke 17:11-19 It has been said, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” When I first moved to Clarion, one of the benefits to my position as a pastor in one of the town’s churches was a membership in the local country club….

A Hopeful Venture

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | October 2, 2022 Jeremiah 32:6-15 and Luke 17:5-6 I really like the fact that from my house in Duluth I can look upon the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Superior. And I like the fact that the town of Wahkon where one of the churches…

Crossing the Gulf

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | September 25, 2022 Luke 16:19-31 A few doors down the street from where I lived in Clarion, Iowa there was a big Victorian style house. It was three stories tall, with a wrap-around porch. The house had sat empty for a couple of years and needed a…

Small Matters – Big Matters

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | September 18, 2022 Luke 16:1-13 I would imagine that in light of today’s Gospel text, many preachers will be talking about something else instead. One approach that helps me to understand stories in the bible is to think about those stories mirror our own stories. We all…

It’s Like Church

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | September 11, 2022 Luke 15:1-10 I remember the day I got lost. I was four years old at the time. My mother and I went to a department store downtown. It was a big store with many floors. We were standing by the elevators and somehow I…

Our Debt

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | September 4, 2022 Luke 11:1-4 and Romans 13:8-14 My first encounter with debt happened when I was ten years old. I had my very own library card.  With a library card I could go to the library and check out six books. After a couple of weeks,…