Sermon: "Inadvertent Villainy", 1 Samuel 3:1-18 (October 12, 2025)

One of my favorite ways to engage scripture is to imagine yourself in the shoes of each character you encounter and seeing what new insights arise. It’s especially interesting in stories where there’s an obvious hero and villain dynamic at play. What do we find when we try to relate to Pharaoh instead of Moses? How does our understanding shift when we see ourselves as Goliath instead of David?  What can we learn when we adopt the perspective of Judas instead of Jesus? 

Liturgy: God Calls Samuel, 1 Samuel 3:1-18 (October 12, 2025)

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Hymns

Hymn GTG #410, “God Is Calling through the Whisper”

Hymn GTG #421, “Have Mercy, God, upon My Life”

Hymn GTG #805, “Come Sing to God”

Sermon: “Momentary Saints”, 1 Samuel 3:1-10/Revelation 21:1-6 (November 7, 2021)

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In Christian circles, we talk about “God’s kindom” or “the kindom of heaven” all the time, but we tend to have a limited understanding of what it is, precisely, that we’re talking about. We know it’s really, really good, that it’s “already and not yet” here (whatever that means), and that it will mark Christ’s return. Other than that, we’re pretty clueless.

That’s where apocalyptic literature like Revelation comes in handy. Hopefully, you remember that, theologically speaking, an apocalypse isn’t actually defined as a catastrophic event. Our English word is derived from a Greek verb meaning “to uncover or reveal”. And in the context of scripture, apocalyptic literature refers to writings that uncover or reveal God’s kindom to us.

Sermon: "Your Servant Is Listening", 1 Samuel 3:10-20 (January 17, 2021)

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Today’s reading could be considered the final chapter in a three-part subplot that kicks off Samuel’s career as a prophet. Part two, which immediately precedes this passage, is probably the best known of the three: the boy Samuel hears God’s voice calling to him in the middle of the night, but thinks it’s the voice of his mentor, Eli. It takes the two of them three times before they figure out what’s going on, but once they do, Eli instructs Samuel to respond, “Speak, Lord; your servant is listening”. You’ve probably heard this part of the story before; this is the go-to passage for ordinations and commissioning services.