Sermon: "Unadulterated Loathing", Jeremiah 29:4-14 (November 23, 2025)

This past Friday, the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s “Wicked” movie was released. In case you need a refresher of the first movie before seeing the second, I’m happy to help. Wicked is kind of a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz”; it tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West long before she meets Dorothy. Far from being a malevolent sorceress, the witch (whose name is Elphaba) actually starts as a shy teenage outcast whose skin had been bright green since birth. She turns out to be quite a likeable protagonist: she’s fiercely protective of her younger sister and has an unshakable sense of justice, especially when it comes to anyone that Ozian society has deemed “less than”. 

Liturgy: "For I Know the Plans I Have for You," Jeremiah 29:4-14 (November 23, 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 that you have either used or adapted it.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #805, “Come Sing to God”

Hymn GTG #785, “In Deepest Night”

Hymn GTG #821, “My Life Flows On”

Sermon: “Like Re-Formed Clay”, Psalm 139:13-18/Jeremiah 18:1-10 (September 4, 2022)

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When you think about building God’s kindom, what sorts of metaphors come to mind? Paul uses gardening imagery: we plant the seeds and care for the plants, while God provides the growth.[1] Several of the prophets use a marriage metaphor to describe how God works together with the people,[2] and Jesus talks about the kindom of heaven in terms of a master entrusting his servants with his money.[3] In each of these images, the act of bringing God’s kindom to earth is depicted as the joint effort of partners. Now, granted, these partners have varying levels of responsibility and authority in each metaphor, but the general dynamic seems to be one of colleagues or teammates working together to accomplish something.

Sermon: “Fettered and Blessed”, Jeremiah 17:5-10/John 4:4-15 (February 13, 2022)

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I’ve been to the Emergency Department exactly once in my life. It was (I think) about 8 years ago. I woke up with a slight twinge in my side, which slowly grew worse throughout the day, until I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to ignore it any longer. By the time my dad drove me to the hospital, it had developed into full-blown, excruciating abdominal pain. I had to sit in the waiting room with this pain for far longer than I would have liked, but the hospital staff eventually got me set up in a room and immediately hooked me up to an IV as they began to run tests.

Sermon: “What the World Needs Now”, Jeremiah 1:4-10/1 Corinthians 13:1-10 (January 30, 2022)

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Even though I stopped today’s New Testament reading at verse 10, chapter 13 actually goes on for another three verses. It compares the knowledge we have as children to the knowledge we have as adults and draws a parallel between our intellectual growth and our spiritual growth, explaining, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child.” As children, we can’t possibly know all there is to know, because we don’t yet have all the information that’s available.

When *I* was a child, everything I knew about love came from what I heard on the radio.

Sermon: "Imagine the Kindom", Jeremiah 23:1-6/Mark 6:30-44 (July 18, 2021)

*NOTE: I use the word "kindom" instead of "kingdom" in order to emphasize the dynamic relational aspect of the world that we create with God more than the dominant/submissive relationship that "king"dom implies. The two words refer to the same idea.*

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I have to admit that if you asked me my favorite story, it probably wouldn’t be one from the Bible. If I had to pick, I’d probably say Peter Pan. There’s just something so relatable and poignant about the stubborn desire to stay young and carefree forever. I’ve read the original novel, seen the musical adaptation (of course) and many versions of the movie; every single interpretation does a beautiful job playing with the tension between the gifts of childhood and the expectations of adulthood.

Arguably, few movies do this more creatively than Steven Spielberg’s 1991 film, “Hook”. This movie asks the question, “What would happen if Peter Pan actually DID grow up?” The answer, apparently, is “become a corporate lawyer.” Peter has grown up and completely forgotten about his former life. When his two children are kidnapped by Captain Hook, Wendy (whose family he married into) breaks her silence and reveals to Peter that he is, in fact, Peter Pan, and must go to Neverland to rescue the children. Peter, being a very reasonable sort of man, is unconvinced, but Tinkerbell drags him away to Neverland anyway.

Sermon: “Make a Joyful Noise: Be Thou My Vision”, Jeremiah 28:1-9 (June 28, 2020)

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We all know that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, right? This is a fact of life, especially today. If you’ve ever bought anything online, you’ve undoubtedly learned that some sellers will say anything to make a sale, regardless of their claim’s veracity. And in this age of so called “fake news” and unfettered social media sharing, we all know to be on our guard for assertions that agree just a little bit too perfectly with our perspective. Anyone living in the modern world knows that you can’t necessarily accept information, especially from a stranger, at face value.

Sermon: "Of Saints and Seedlings", Jeremiah 31:27-34/2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 (October 20, 2019)

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Okay; don’t tell anyone, but I have a problem with scripture.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. What I actually have a problem with is a particular scripture-related metaphor. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower (which our kids presented beautifully a couple of weeks ago) and then, in a rare move, he explains what the parable means so that there can be no confusion: the seeds that the farmer sows represent the Word of God, and the different types of soil that they land in represent our potential attitudes when we hear the Gospel. In other words, how we receive the Good News determines whether or not it’s able to take root in our hearts.

Sermon: "Pure Lament", Psalm 88/Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 (September 22, 2019)

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Fair warning: today’s sermon is not going to be a feel-good message. Today, we’re talking about lament. There’s been a great deal of loss, both tangible and intangible, in our community over the past few months, so I think it’s worthwhile for us to think through the theology of grief together. However, if at any point something in this sermon becomes too overwhelming, I completely understand if anyone needs to step out. Listening to what your spirit needs in this moment is more important than sitting politely through a sermon that you’re not emotionally ready to hear. If you do need to leave, know that I understand, I love you, and I’m here to talk whenever you feel ready.

Sermon: "You're (Not) Excused", Jeremiah 1:4-10/Luke 13:10-17 (August 25, 2019)

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Excuses, excuses. We’ve all made them at one time or another, right? Sometimes, we do it because we want to communicate a legitimate reason for being unable to do something. More often, though, we make excuses because we don’t WANT to do something. We want to get out of some obligation or responsibility, but we don’t to face any consequences for it. So, we make excuses.

Sermon: "Who's the Troublemaker?", Jeremiah 23:23-29/Luke 12:49-56 (August 18, 2019)

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It seems that Jesus is, and always has been, a troublemaker.

Not necessarily by choice; trouble just seems to always find him. Even when he was an infant, others could sense it. When he was still a baby, a man named Simeon told Jesus’ mother, “This child is destined to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”[1] And our Gospel reading today seems to confirm this prediction: Jesus himself says, “Do you think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I’ve come instead to bring division!”[2] He’s self-identifying as a rabble-rouser! Let’s go out and make people mad in the name of Christ—it’s what Jesus would want, right? I know some really great ways to get under people’s skin.

Sermon: "No Such Thing as a Popular Prophet", Jeremiah 17:5-10/Luke 6:17-26 (February 17, 2019)

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As human beings, we’re always learning. The “classroom” might be in a formal school setting, at home, or somewhere else, but no matter where we are, we’re constantly taking in new information. Sometimes, the lessons come naturally and are easy and fun, like learning how to play a new game. Other times, they’re boring and uneventful, but still necessary, like figuring out how to file taxes (or how to convince someone else to do them for you). Either way, we usually manage to absorb these lessons without too much existential fuss; learning them doesn’t significantly alter our perspective on life. But what happens when we’re confronted with a lesson that threatens to turn our understanding of the world upside down?

Sermon: "Places, Everybody!", Jeremiah 1:4-10/Psalm 19:7-14 (February 3, 2019)

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Today in worship, we have a very full day ahead of us. We’re not only sharing Communion as we do every month, but we’re also ordaining and installing our new Deacons and Elders, which generally only happens once a year. It occurs to me that both of these events are celebrations of God’s call on our lives—Communion is a celebration of God’s call on all of us to draw closer into relationship with Christ, and Ordination is a celebration of God’s particular call on individual lives to specific ministries within the church. It’s pretty appropriate, then that the lectionary gave us this reading from Jeremiah where the prophet recounts his own call story. And every time I think about God’s call, it strikes me that there’s good news and there’s bad news.

Sermon: "The Great Scoutmaster", Jeremiah 23:23-29/Luke 12:49-56 (August 14, 2016)

8/14/16

Sermon video here.

“Good News”. For a phrase that we use so often around here, you’d think we’d talk a little bit more about what it actually means. We know what each of those words means individually, of course, but when we talk about Good News in a faith context, it means something more specific, doesn’t it? From a Christian theological standpoint, “The Good News” is shorthand for the coming of God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ. That’s it in a nutshell.

In preaching classes, students are often told that the goal is to find the “Good News” in scripture and proclaim it. It doesn’t matter if the day’s lesson is from the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, the Psalms or the Epistles: the thing that makes Scripture holy is that the Good News spills from every page.

And yet, preaching is rarely an easy job. Not because the Good News isn’t there, but because it often doesn’t appear the way we expect it to. Where, for example, is the Good News in genocide? In war? Famine? Where’s the Good News in being told that we’re wrong? Or that we need to change?