Sermon Archives

Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, and distributes them, along with the fish. Everyone gets as much as they want, and then Jesus tells the disciples, “Gather up the fragments” (v. 12). They fill 12 baskets with leftovers, causing the people to stare at Jesus in amazement. They begin to say, “This is indeed the […]

Forgiveness means that we are not destined endlessly to replay the grievances of yesterday. It is the ability to live with the past without being held captive by the past. It would not be an exaggeration to say that forgiveness is the most compelling testimony to human freedom. It is about the action that is […]

The colors of creation appear through the one and only light of this world, Christ Jesus, the Son of God. When the Creator’s light hits the first two planes and is refracted through the third plane, which is the Holy Spirit, it is transformed into a wondrous array of colors, each showing one aspect of […]

The bad news about being human is that we will make mistakes. The good news is that we do not have to be defined by those mistakes. There is always someone who struggles with the same thing we do; and we have a God who knows our weaknesses and loves us anyway. In the game […]

There is an old story about a king, whose people had grown soft and entitled. Displeased, the king hoped to teach them a lesson. He placed a large boulder in the middle of the road, completely blocking entry into the city. Then he hid nearby to observe their reactions. Would they band together to remove […]

Jesus’ parables to help to us recognize the truth of who we are and who we might become with God’s help. That truth is revealed in the parable of a tenacious seed, scattered by a gardener, which grows to offer abundance. This process is a mystery to the gardener, but not to Jesus, who teaches […]

I don’t know if getting older gives you any wisdom. I probably had as much wisdom at your age as I do at mine. But there is one hard thing that I have learned, and I hope that you remember this if nothing else. You have more to fear from your inhibitions than you do […]

Any Christian survivor of hard times learns from hard experiences that with affliction, God gives us what we need to get through difficult times: strength of will, the fellowship of good friends, confidence in our convictions, hope for the future. All of this is built on awareness and acceptance in faith of the new normal. […]

God invests in you so that you will become a part of God’s family welcomed and included by the Spirit instead of by the flesh. Paul says that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (v. 14). As children of God, we need never feel hollowed out or empty, […]