Sermon: Pounding the Pavement Like Paul, Acts 17:16-31 (May 3, 2026)

Have any of you ever done door-to-door sales before? I never have, but I imagine it’s a pretty tough job. I mean, I know that as the person on the other side of the door, I almost always start out skeptical and annoyed when someone shows up at my house to sell me something. Before I even open the door, I have to convince the worst guard dogs ever to stop barking so that I can hear what the person is trying to sell me. But even after overcoming that initial hurdle, there are always plenty more. Maybe it’s an inconvenient time, maybe their product isn’t something I’m particularly interested in, maybe I’m wary of being scammed, maybe I’m just not in the mood to talk to anyone at all. More often than not, a door-to-door salesperson who finds themself on my front porch starts out at a distinct disadvantage. 

Sermon: "So That All May Know", 1 Kings 8:28-30, 37-43 (October 27, 2024)

Before we dig into today’s scripture reading, I want to read just one verse from Genesis, which we’ll come back to later on. Remember that in chapter 12 of Genesis, the focus shifts from the world’s primeval history to the patriarchs (and matriarchs) of our faith. In particular, it zeroes in on God’s specific interest in the lineage that will result in the people, and eventually kingdom, of Israel. As soon as the third verse of this chapter, God communicates God’s intentions to Abram without any ambiguity: “All the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.”

Sermon: "Make A Joyful Noise: Go, Tell It on the Mountain", Isaiah 55:10-13 (July 12, 2020)

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Do you all remember what it’s like applying to jobs? I sure do. Personally, I didn’t mind the ones that gave you an actual application form too much, but I HATED the ones that required a resume. It’s not that I had a problem sharing my employment history with potential employers (although early on, it was hard to make three years of babysitting fill up an entire page). No, what I hated about it was the fact that submitting a resume also requires writing a cover letter. Did you ever have to write one? Did you struggle with them as much as I did? As I understand it, a cover letter serves several purposes: it’s primarily a matter of etiquette, thanking the employer for their time and consideration, but it’s also an opportunity to grab the employer’s attention. A good cover letter hits the highlights of your job history and connects the dots as to why you’d be a good fit for the position. It summarizes you as an employee in a way that compels the employer to want to know more. It’s basically the Cliffsnotes of your resume.

Sermon: "Hide & Seek in the Desert", Acts 1:6-14/1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 (May 24, 2020--Ascension Sunday)

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We’ve all played “Hide & Seek” before, right? Or at least we know the concept? All the players except one are hiding somewhere “out there”, and it’s the seeker’s job to go out and find them. This is essentially what Jesus is telling the disciples to do in the beginning of Acts, and calls us to do still: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We are the seekers, and we’re tasked to go out into the world and find God’s beloved children, wherever they are, in order to share the Good News of Christ’s love with them. This echo of the Great Commission confirms that we, as people of faith, are engaged in the largest and longest-running game of Hide & Seek ever undertaken in human history. (I wonder if anyone’s called Guinness World Records yet…probably not.)

Sermon: “Making Room in God’s House” (a.k.a., "Invitangelism", "Think Bigger", or "The Parable of the Architect"), Isaiah 49:1, 4-6/Psalm 40:1-4/John 1:35-42 (January 19, 2020)

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A new parable: there once was an architect who needed to design and build a house for her own family. She, her spouse, and their two children had been displaced by a natural disaster a few years back, but the time had come for them to return to their hometown, to rebuild and start again. She was full of hope as she sat down at the drafting table, but as she considered everything that needed to go into this new house—her spouse wanted a large kitchen, her son wanted a bedroom with enough space for all of his toys while her daughter wanted one as far from her brother as possible, not to mention her own need for an at-home office—she began to become discouraged. She felt that after everything they’d been through, she didn’t have the strength to create a new home for her family, one that would meet all of their needs and help them feel safe and secure again. But, they needed somewhere to live, so she did the best she could, and they began construction.

#PalmSundayPonderings

(Posted on Facebook on Palm Sunday)

I realized today how few people, other than clergy, post pictures of themselves at church unless it's a special event like a concert or a baptism.