Sermon: “(God the) Father Knows Best”, 1 Samuel 8:4-14, 19-21/John 18.33-37 (November 21, 2021)

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When I was a kid, my favorite time of the day was when I got home from school, and that was for one reason and one reason only—snack time. (I suspect that food has always given me an abnormally large dopamine rush, because I’ve *always* looked forward to meals as the highlight of my day.) Of course, I had my snacking preferences: candy was ideal, but cookies were also acceptable, as were chocolate-covered granola bars or potato chips (in a pinch). I would always try to steer my mom towards these items whenever I accompanied her to the grocery store.

Unfortunately, my mother and I fundamentally disagreed about what constituted a good snack. I would lobby for a new stash of my favorites, envisioning frosted animal crackers or Oreo cookies, but more often than not would wind up with string cheese, apples, or even (*shudder*) NON-chocolate-covered granola bars. Like, not even the kind with chocolate chips in them. JUST granola.

Sermon: "The Peculiar King", Luke 19:29-44/Luke 23:33-43 (November 24, 2019)

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Okay, before I begin, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page on one thing: hopefully, we can all agree that the English language is REALLY weird. For example, the meaning of a sentence can change dramatically depending on which word you emphasize. This has nothing to do with the language itself (grammatically speaking) and everything to do with inflection. Take, for example, the sentence, “I never said she stole my money.” If you emphasize the first word, “I”, it implies that someone else made the accusation: “*I* never said she stole my money.” If you emphasize the second word, it’s a forceful denial of the premise: “I NEVER said she stole my money.” If you emphasize the third word, it indicates that the speaker may be implying something unspoken: “I never SAID she stole my money.” You can go through and try it with the rest of the words on your own if you want. It’s a fun game.