Authors

Ken Kesselus

The Rev. Ken Kesselus, author of John E. Hines: Granite on Fire (Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, 1995), is retired from full-time, active ministry and lives with his wife, Toni, in his native home, Bastrop, Texas.

Sermons and Bible Studies

Often Parishioners Come to Their Clergy…, Proper 22 (C) – 2004

October 03, 2004

Often parishioners come to their clergy or spiritual advisors seeking help with issues of deepening or increasing their faith or of overcoming doubts and uncertainty. This is not surprising because most of us experience such needs. It is a mark of strength of faith to want to grow spiritually. Today’s Gospel reading relates a similar […]

Once When a Certain…, Easter 2 (C) – 2004

April 18, 2004

Once when a certain preacher launched into a children’s sermon, she was confronted by a visiting child, an eight-year-old friend of a regular member. The boy was new to this church, but was a regular attendee at another congregation that did not have children’s sermons. Nevertheless, the visitor tried his best to follow the line […]

To A Christian Attorney…, Lent 4 (C) – 2004

March 21, 2004

To a Christian attorney or judge, a legal reading of the parable in today’s Gospel reading might seem perfectly obvious: The father’s statement, “Son all I have is yours,” means that he made a contract when the prodigal left, and the contract was binding and final. From that point forward, the younger son would get […]

Although the Specifics of Today’s…, Epiphany 3 (C) – 2004

January 25, 2004

They’re rioting in Africa. They’re starving in Spain. There’s hurricanes in Florida and Texas needs rain. The whole world is festering with unhappy souls. The French hate the Germans; the Germans hate the Poles. Italians hate Yugoslavs; South Africans hate the Dutch, And I don’t like anybody very much. But we can be tranquil and […]

A Wild and Woolly Call, Epiphany 1 (C) – 2004

January 11, 2004

Today we find John Baptist at the River Jordan, where he preached repentance, baptized Jesus, and admitted how much greater Jesus was than he. John’s is a story of such great significance that we hear parts of it every year — twice, sometimes three times. John Baptist was quite a character — wild and woolly, […]

Was Your Experience…, Proper 9 (B) – 2003

July 06, 2003

Was your experience of adolescence something like this? The girls or boys in the town or neighboring high school always seemed better looking than the familiar ones. And if you were to ask the teens in those near-by places their experience, they would have said the boys and girls in your school or town were […]

One of the Most Interesting…, Easter 3 (B) – 2003

May 04, 2003

One of the most interesting and unique phenomena in American politics in recent decades was the emergence of Jesse Ventura – the maverick, independent, former Governor of Minnesota. What made Ventura truly unique, of course, was his former occupation as a professional wrestler. Jesse “The Body” Ventura used his massive frame to slam other wrestlers […]

A Man Was in the Back Yard…, Easter (B) – 2003

April 20, 2003

A man was in the back yard trying to fix a broken window shutter. When he had just about reached his frustration limit, his three-year-old daughter showed up and said, “Whatcha doin,’ Daddy?” The man replied, “I am trying to fix this stupid shutter, but I don’t think I can.” She reassured him, “God can […]

The Light That Illumines All, Christmas 1 – 2002

December 29, 2002

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we heard the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth from Luke’s Gospel-the account of a baby in a stable, of shepherds, and angels in the town of Bethlehem. This is the narrative from one of the four Gospel accounts, the four versions of the Good News of Jesus Christ. How […]

Can You Imagine a Scene…, Proper 27 (A) – 2002

November 10, 2002

Can you imagine a scene in which there are ten contestants, pitted against each other at an international piano competition? Image further that five of them have constantly practiced their entries to perfection, and remained ever ready to be called to play. Meanwhile, imagine the other five contestants spending their time watching television and eating […]

Most of the Western United States…, Lent 3 (A) – 2002

March 03, 2002

Most of the western United States suffers severe droughts in several decades every century. These are times when the grass is brown or there is no grass at all and the land is cracked and broken; times when cattle are forced to gather around broken up bales of hay and creep feeders; when stock tanks […]

Change Reading to…, Lent 2 (A) – 2002

February 24, 2002

Change reading to “born again!” Honestly — in some ways our lessons today are real jokes. We enter into a humorous story about two old people, Abraham and Sarah, who are sad that they have had no child together; no child to carry on their name and inheritance. But they were realistic about the situation; […]

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