Sermon: "Biblical Gymnastics", 2 Samuel 11:26-12:9/Ephesians 4:1-6, 12-16 (August 1, 2021)

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I have to admit; I’ve never quite understood the appeal of watching sports. I guess I’m just not all that interested in who can make the ball go in the goal the most times. But even I get caught up in the excitement of the Olympic games. I’m not as interested in the superlative competitions regarding who can be “faster, stronger, closer, ” (the races, weightlifting, shooting events, and that sort of thing) as I am in the ones where competitors demonstrate the incredible ways that they can make their bodies move. As someone who considers herself fairly uncoordinated and is extremely out of touch with her own body, THESE are the sports that leave me in awe. The events like synchronized swimming, diving, and, of course, gymnastics.

Sermon: “A Perfect Fit”, 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37-40, 18:1-5/Ephesians 6:10-17 (June 20, 2021)

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Have you ever gotten a gift that you just…didn’t like? For me, it’s coffee mugs. I have coffee mugs coming out of my ears, and while I DO love coffee, I don’t need a different mug for every day of the year. I struggle to find a place to put them all, and it’s not like they have an infinite number of uses (I only have so many pens that need holding). Every time I open a gift containing another mug, I inwardly groan. I know I’m not alone; I’m sure there are plenty of father-figures around the country this very minute opening hastily wrapped presents and wondering just what the heck they’re gonna do with whatever’s inside.

Sermon: "This Changes Everything!" Acts 1:4-9/Ephesians 1:15-19 (May 16, 2021)

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When I first started telling people six years ago that I was moving to Idaho, I got all sorts of responses to the news. I remember one person joking that I was continuing my “I-90 ministry”—I’d begun with my theological education in Boston, continued back in my hometown of Rochester, and now was making the leap to Idaho (I-90 runs through the panhandle). According to this theory, I’ll have to retire in Washington to complete the journey.

I didn’t mind the joke at all. In fact, there was something comforting about knowing that I’d still be connected, however distantly, to the highway that I’d logged so many miles on over the years. Growing up, my family traveled I-90 to visit my grandparents in Buffalo; I made the trek between Boston and Rochester on a regular basis during the 5 years I lived in Massachusetts; I’d even occasionally hopped on I-90 for just a few miles if the traffic was bad on the other highways. Even though I was only really familiar with a relatively small stretch of the Interstate, it was still reassuring that, in the face of such a dramatic life change, I could still follow that same road to travel back home.

Sermon: "Suit Up!", Ephesians 6:10-18 (August 23, 2015)

8/23/2015
(Video of this sermon)

I want to take a moment to ask you what images come to mind when you hear this passage from Ephesians. Holy Crusaders going off to war? Our men and women in the armed forces getting ready to fight for God, freedom, and the American way? Preparing yourself to go and “do battle” with the unchurched in your life? The idea of “just warfare”?