Sermon: “Runner’s Low”, Luke 12:51-56/Hebrews 11:32-12:2 (August 14, 2022)

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When I was in high school, I fell in with the wrong crowd. Oh, I don’t mean the type of kids who ditched class and broke rules; not THAT kind of wrong crowd. A different kind. The kids I hung out with all got good grades and were on good terms with school administration, but on more than one occasion, I felt peer-pressured into something I didn’t want to do: joining the track team. They were all runners, and not being on the track team made me a bit of a black sheep within my friends group.

Sermon: “God’s Embassy on Earth”, Psalm 33:12-22/Hebrews 11:1-10, 13-16 (August 7, 2022)

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Over the past several years, Christian nationalism has been on the rise. And we here in the United States aren’t the only participants in this trend: the Wikipedia page for “Christian nationalism” lists Canada, Russia, the United States, and Yugoslavia as modern examples of countries that have, to one degree or another, embraced this ideology. In some cases, Christian nationalism emerges out of the best of intentions – a belief that Christian policies and laws would improve life for everyone. In others, it’s a tactical strategy – if an individual controls both the state AND the Church, then there’s very little that can stand in the way of their political aspirations. Regardless of where on this spectrum a person’s motivations lie, the objective of Christian nationalism remains the same: a blurring, if not outright removal, of the line between Church and state.

Sermon: "Holy Provocation", Numbers 20:1-5, 9-13/Hebrews 10:19-25 (November 14, 2021)

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Families fight. This is a universal truth. It doesn’t matter if yours is connected by genetics or by choice; it makes no difference how healthy the dynamics between its members are. All families fight.

The Church likes to pretend that it’s exempt from this natural law—that because we have Jesus as our head, we meet conflict with a level of grace and humility that puts everyone else to shame. But come on; we all know that isn’t true. ALL. FAMILIES. FIGHT. And God’s family is no exception. From arguments about what color to paint the walls to full-blown denominational schisms, the Christian family has been fighting with each other since time immemorial. Our fights may not resemble the backset arguments of our childhood over who’s touching whom or the tension of a holiday dinner in an election year, but they’re just as inevitable.

Sermon: "In God We Trust", Genesis 15:1-6/Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 (August 11, 2019)

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Our first reading today is one of the more astounding stories in the Bible. I don’t mean because of the number of descendants that God promises Abram (although that IS incredible) and I don’t mean because of the prospect of an elderly couple having a child in their old age (although that IS inconceivable). No, the reason this passage is so astounding is because of what God’s doing here: God is entering into a covenant relationship with humanity.

Sermon: "Relational Gratitude", Job 1:1, 2:1-10/Hebrews 2:5-12 (October 7, 2018)

10/7/18

Sermon video here.

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Before I begin today, I must confess that the excitement of preaching this week has been eclipsed for me by another even more exciting, more personal event. You see, tomorrow is my first wedding anniversary, and as we all know, it’s smooth sailing after the first year, so I’m pumped. In all seriousness, though, this week has been a flood of memories for me, since the week leading up to the big day were filled with last-minute on-site details (because I had done a bulk of the planning from well over 2000 miles away). And I know that there will be even more memories in the coming days, as I relive the ceremony, the reception, and of course, the most important part. You know what I’m talking about.

The thank you notes.

Sermon: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 (August 11, 2013)

8/11/13

A sermon I wrote for pulpit supply at the church in which I was baptized:

So, before I went to seminary, I liked reading a lot. I particularly liked fantasy, science fiction, that sort of thing. One of my favorites was a little series about a boy wizard with a lightning-bolt-shaped scar. Who here has read Harry Potter? There are a lot of fantastical elements to the wizarding world that Harry, having been raised in “muggle,” or non-wizarding, society encounters for the first time along with his readers. From angry letters that literally yell at you--called “howlers”--to photographs that move, the wonders of Harry Potter’s world are endless.