All Sermons
The reflection below was written by the Rev. Roger Douglas as part of the introduction to his book An Audience of One. It expresses the spirit behind all of his preaching and offers a helpful way to approach the sermons preserved in this archive.
As you read these sermons, you may find they help you make sense of the world, or invite you into your own conversation with God. Roger often said that he sought meaning in a world of death and suffering, beginnings and retirements, successes and failures, sense and nonsense.
His experience as a preacher taught him that most sermons first speak back to the one who writes them; the real dialogue is between the preacher and God. If anyone in the congregation hears a word that touches them, it is because God has chosen to let them in on that conversation.
Roger believed that preaching is deeply personal work — a struggle to make sense of Scripture, an openness about doubts, and a willingness to share the journey. The more honestly he engaged that struggle, the better others were able to identify with it.
He described this kind of work as “confessional” preaching, not in the sense of offering anecdotes, but in speaking truthfully from within one’s own life while pointing people toward Jesus. It frees the preacher from having to solve every problem and reminds us that we are not steering the ship, but contributing our part to the dialogue.
May these sermons draw you into that same conversation of faith — one marked by mystery, humility, and the grace of God at work in all things.
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Epiphany 1997
Epiphany 1997 January 5, 1997 W.H. Auden wrote many things that seem to speak to our situation. One written fifty years ago was called “For The Time Being.” Listen to his words: “Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree, putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes -some have broken. The…
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Whatever you Ask
Whatever you Ask John 14: 6-14 May 6, 1990 G, K, Chesterton once said, “You can look at a thing ninety-nine times and be perfectly sure. But if you look at it the one-hundredth time, you are in danger of seeing it. ” So let’s look at our text once again. It’s so very common,…
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“The Next Step After Failure”
“The Next Step After Failure” Genesis 12: 1-8; Luke 15: 11-24 March 11, 1990 Recently in the news, there appeared a picture of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, Hungary. Graffiti was spread across its front. There, written in big, bold letters 1 were the words n Communism is dead, Throw away your membership card. ”…
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Seeing Through Another’s Eyes(First in a series entitled “seeing”)
Seeing Through Another’s Eyes (First in a series entitled “seeing”) Matthew 2: 1-2 January 7, 1990 Many years ago I attended a lecture on the Christmas Story from a Jewish perspective. A local rabbi gave the talk and it was a fascinating experience . it stood as a good corrective to those of uswho tend…
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The beginnings of our Sacred Journey
The beginnings of our Sacred Journey Exodus 3: 1-6 September 10, 1989 Welcome back. Welcome back to this place where God speaks to us. Welcome back to this place where we wait, and watch, and wonder, and worship. Welcome back to this place where we are enabled to hear the voice of God. Welcome back.…
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The Secret of Endurance
The Secret of Endurance Matthew 10: 16-22 Psalm 46 January 29, 1989 I was in San Francisco this week. Some three hundred clergy met at Grace Cathedral, and rub elbows with the closest thing to a living saint that the Anglican Communion has produced in the last fifty years. We went there to sit at…
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Continued Beginnings, Questionable Endings
Continued Beginnings, Questionable Endings Feast of the Presentation February 7, 1988 My standing as a botanist is highly questionable. Oftentimes I am asked in names of desert flowers, I usually smile knowingly and change the subject. There is however, one flower I can recognize, although I haven’t seen it around here it’s called the morning…
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Go Tell the Message
Go Tell the Message Mark 16: 1-6 April 3, 1988 Walking into a room used by another group can be a learning experience. Several months ago, I went into a room recently vacated by a divorce recovery group. There on the blackboard was written, if you always do what you always did, you always get…
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How do you approach communion?
How do you approach communion? First Corinthians Chapter 11 verses 23 through 32 October 4th, 1987 A friend of mine once confided that of all the things that happened during worship, the part when we receive communion was the least meaningful. What got to him, he said, with the long empty spaces when we administered…
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“It Ain’t Necessarily So”
“It Ain’t Necessarily So” Mark 8: 27-38 February 23, 1997 We live in exciting and unnerving times. New living arrangements are emerging throughout the world. New paradigms are being fashioned. Old truths are being discarded, and new virtues are replacing ancient idols. Partially because we’ve learned more about ourselves, and partially because the world is…