Sermon Archives

Being a disciple of Jesus is not like choosing how to watch TV, where we can choose between cable, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, or YouTube TV. We live in a culture of choices. We expect the business community, our friends, neighbors, and our church to offer us choices. But the Christian life is nothing like […]

The book of Psalms is the playlist for the people of Israel. Many psalms are upbeat songs of praise. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 100:1). “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1). “Praise the Lord, my […]

King David is not interested in being one of these fugitive fools. He longed to come clean with God. “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me,” he writes (51:3). Our sin is ever before us, whether it is the lobbing of a cherry bomb at firefighters (Howard Mechanic’s crime) or losing […]

When we allow God to work through us we are part of God’s visible mending. When we embrace the pain of others, showing a love that transmits strength, we become the kind of heroes who helped William Sloane Coffin and Kate Bowler. When we remain faithful and prayerful in the face of losses and disappointments, […]

Isaiah talks of God’s wrath, but in the very same chapter, he speaks of God’s mercy: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (40:31). How is it possible that God […]

The central message is simple: Love is more important than knowledge. Paul calls for a shift from knowledge (gnosis) to love (agape) as the ordering principle for disciples of Jesus. If we want the recipe for divinity, to be truly Christ-like in our living, then we will need ample quantities of love, and a cup […]

The good news of the kingdom of God, first proclaimed by Jesus, is the news that God is working to bring harmony between heaven and earth, and between human society and the natural world. This is a kingdom of love and justice, healing, and hope. We move a little closer to this destination when we […]

The Bible tells many stories that include the audible voice of God; but I think it far more likely that God speaks to us through the sort of faint shiver that emerges out of the silence, as Jayber Crow experienced it. Samuel’s call in the Bible is neither flashy nor grand. He hears a voice […]

Our baptism incorporates us into the Messiah’s saving work. It is important to remember that dealing with capital “S”-Sin requires a deep self-examination of the ways in which we still find ourselves enslaved, thus allowing us to worship and praise the One who sets us free. Jesus undergoes baptism not because he is a sinner […]