by Stacey Denny | Aug 12, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
I had a neighbor growing up whose name was Roger. We were the same age, maybe 7 or 8, and we shared a sandbox, a sort of communal sandbox, which we shared with several neighborhood cats. Every morning we’d clean it out, then play cars, building highways, tunnels, and...
by Stacey Denny | Jul 19, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
For years, I preached stand-alone sermons, but after a while noticed I was whaling away at the same subject every Sunday, so began doing series preaching, carefully selecting varied themes so as not to repeat myself. But the weakness of series preaching is the...
by Stacey Denny | Jun 24, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
An old friend came to visit last week. We were sitting outside in our screenhouse, and the subject of money came up. My friend said, “I love money,” and I immediately thought of the comedian Steve Martin, who said, “I love money. I love everything about it. I bought...
by Stacey Denny | Jun 16, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
I was chatting with a man recently about the things we should know but aren’t taught, the things we must learn on our own. Most of us weren’t taught about finances, we just mimic the spending habits of our parents, be they good or bad. My mother was frugal, and my...
by Stacey Denny | Jun 5, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
Welcome to meeting, Friends. On this day we remember and give thanks for the presence of ice cream in our lives. Catholics believe in transubstantiation, that when the priest offers the Eucharistic prayer, the bread and wine change in substance to become the actual...
by Stacey Denny | May 23, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
Good morning, friends. Today we are celebrating our graduates and women, which presents me with an abundance of preaching possibilities. A few weeks ago, when I was thinking about this morning, I thought to myself, “If only there were a Bible story about graduation...
by Stacey Denny | May 23, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
It is so nice to be back at Fairfield. Last weekend we were in San Antonio watching our son graduate from college. Joan had flown down four days earlier to babysit our grandson Miles so Sam and Kelsea could pack for their move to Fort Campbell. I stayed back here to...
by Stacey Denny | Apr 25, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
I was visiting with a friend this past week and we got to talking about the worst jobs we’d ever had. Mine was my first job out of high school, when for five years I operated a rattling, banging, prone-to-malfunctioning machine that scanned utility bills. Every day...
by Stacey Denny | Apr 15, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
This is my 25th Palm Sunday here at Fairfield. This past week, I read through all 25 Palm Sunday sermons I’d given, and I noticed I was giving essentially the same sermon every Palm Sunday–the modesty and humility of Jesus riding a donkey stands in contrast to...
by Stacey Denny | Apr 15, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
Welcome, friends. It is, as always, a delight to be with you in this pleasant place. It was Winston Churchill who famously said, “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.” I was having lunch with a friend this past week who asked me what I would have done if...
