Sermon: "Gentle Sibling-ing", Exodus 32:7-14, 30-35 (May 31, 2026)

For the next seven weeks, we’re going to be digging into some scriptural examples of people disputing with God. From Abraham to Moses to David to Jonah to an unnamed Canaanite woman to Jesus himself, it turns out that we come from a long line of believers who were willing to question and even criticize God. Sometimes, these skeptics are swiftly put in their place (the book of Job comes to mind), but more often, the Lord just…lets it happen. On some occasions, God actually engages in the debate, and there are even times when God winds up changing God’s mind because of it. Plenty of modern Church leaders would be horrified at the thought of questioning religious authority, but the fact is that there’s a whole lot of scriptural precedent for it. So let’s see what we can learn from the complaints of our forebears.

Sermon: Dam It, Amos 5:5:14-15, 21-24 (November 9, 2025)

Just over two years ago, in September 2023, a terrible tragedy hit the Libyan city of Derna. After years of neglected maintenance and record-breaking torrential rain from Storm Daniel, two dams that had held the Wadi Derna River back since the 1970s collapsed, unleashing over 30 million cubic meters of water on the sleeping city[1]. The loss of property and life was staggering, to the point that as of three months ago, almost 3,300 people are still unaccounted for.[2] Some official figures number the fatalities at just over 4,500 deaths,[3] but other sources estimate that as many as 24,000 lives may have been lost.[4] It was the deadliest dam failure of the 21st century and the second deadliest in recorded history. 

If you’re wondering what on earth this awful event has to do with today’s scripture reading, it’s probably because you’ve never heard these verses in the larger context of Amos’ prophecy. 

Liturgy: Let Justice Roll Down, Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 (November 9, 2025)

   *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #356, “Sing Praise to God, Whose Mighty Acts”

Hymn GTG #773, “Heaven Shall Not Wait”

Hymn GTG #757, “Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples”

Anxiety and Justice

 It's election day in the U.S., and I'm anxious.

Not about any of the races, but because our church has given permission to Idahoans United for Women and Families (IUWF) to collect signatures for a ballot initiative on our property.

Sermon: “M.Y.O.B.”, Exodus 2:23-3:15 (September 28, 2025)

Do you remember the first “societal rule” that you were taught? For many of us, it was probably to MYOB - “mind your own business”. The more siblings you grew up with, the earlier and more frequently you probably heard this admonition. But this rule doesn’t just apply to juvenile tattle tales and the fairness police. In our society, “MYOB” is arguably as important a tenet as the Golden Rule (some might even say moreso). When it’s applied consistently and well, it’s one of our best strategies for living together in peace - if it doesn’t affect you personally, the rule says that you’re supposed to just let it go and move on with your life. 

Sermon: "Confessional Excerpts" (June 7 2020)

------------------------------------------------------------------

These last couple of weeks have been emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically taxing. We were already worn out from the isolation and caution demanded by COVID-19, and now there’s a national movement of civil unrest that’s rightly demanding the last remnants of our energy and attention. One thought that’s been haunting me ever since the news of George Floyd’s death broke is that, if I’m this bone-weary after a week of mourning the sins of our nation and doing my best to stand against racism, it must be absolutely debilitating for those who don’t have that choice, whose very existence makes it impossible to ignore or deny the injustices of American society. This thought has convicted me that I can’t afford to look away, even when it’s hard to watch.

Sermon: “Rock of Ages: God’s Mercy”, John 8:3-11/Jonah 3:10-4:11 (March 31, 2019)

(This sermon is the third in our Lenten Series, "Rock of Ages", in which we're exploring how rocks can symbolize different characteristics of God and of ourselves.)

--------------------------------------------------------

Today’s scripture readings come from two stories that we’ve all heard countless times before. Those of us who grew up in the church have been hearing the story of Jonah since our earliest days of Sunday School, and while children’s Bible storybooks don’t usually cover “The Woman Caught in Adultery” for some reason, it’s still one of those stories that most of us know by heart. They’re so familiar, in fact, that if we’re not careful, we might miss what they’re really trying to tell us, because they’ve turned into the mundane background noise of our faith. We assume we’ve already learned their lessons because we’ve heard them so many times before. But what if I were to reframe them, maybe give them a different ending? What might we learn from a story told in a way that isn’t familiar to us? Let’s find out…