Our faith is not simple, our lives not easy. We experience hardships, disappointments, and heartache, and in those moments, we long for a God that will lift us from our present-day trouble, answering our prayers with immediate urgency.
How do we hold onto faith when that God doesn’t appear? What is the purpose of the Church? What does a life filled with gratitude look like?

Through questions like these, Molly F. James invites us into her faith journey, exposing her darkest and most vulnerable times, and relying upon personal experience to expand our view of God. When we make room for heartache and doubt, James believes, we hold onto faith in spite of difficulty, recognizing that these very experiences can deepen our walk with God. This beautifully articulated collection of Cycle C sermons for Pentecost 23 through Christ the King should find its way to every pastor’s bookshelf as a resource for sermons or small group study. For the weary soul looking for a drink of fresh life, Ordinary Gratitude will become a time-tested collection of sermons that renews a tired spirit again and again.

Sermon titles include:

• Healing (Luke 17:11-19; 2 Timothy 2:8-15)
  
• Keeping the Faith (Luke 18:1-8; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5)
  
• The Time Is Near(Luke 21:5-19; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13)

Molly James is the Dean of Formation for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Hartford Seminary and the University of St. Joseph. She serves as the co-chair of the Young Clergy Women Project and on the board of the Society of Scholar Priests. She and her husband have two children.