Sermon: "On Rage and Weddings", John 2:1-11 (January 11, 2026)

*Neither our livestream OR recording were working this week, so there's no video or audio. Hopefully they'll both be up and running for next week.*

I have to tell you, I had an entirely different sermon planned for today. But as I was making notes and studying the scripture, I heard the news out of Minneapolis. Before I started writing, I saw the video. And I became angry. Angry that this sort of extrajudicial execution has become acceptable to our society, yes, but even more so angry at the people justifying and defending it and demanding that I ignore the evidence that I’ve seen with my own eyes. And this anger has been sitting as a pit in my stomach since Wednesday. As you can imagine, these are not ideal sermon writing conditions.

Sermon: “Laying Down the Law”, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9/James 1:19-27 (August 29, 2021)

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We in the reformed tradition don’t generally seem to spend a lot of time with the book of James. As far as I can tell, there are two reasons for this, the first being that if something isn’t either written by Paul or a gospel, we tend to dismiss it as “less important scripture”. That line of thinking is problematic enough, but the second reason is arguably even more distressing: we tend to ignore James because he, more than any other New Testament writer, places a heavy emphasis on obedience to the Torah, God’s holy Law, within the Christian community.

What If?

What if,
As Christians,
Instead of thinking of ourselves as gatekeepers of the truth,
We considered ourselves inviters into joy?
Not called to exclude the "unqualified",
But to extravagantly, recklessly welcome any and all who we encounter?

What if,
Instead of thinking it our job to correct others,
We considered it our sacred privilege to invite others into blessed relationship with God,
So they can discover the truth themselves
Like a flower that blossoms over time
To our infinite delight?

What if,
Instead of thinking we've got all the right answers,
We considered that our job as disciples
Was to find out what others can teach us about holiness?
That God places us where we are
Not to correct,
But to learn?

What if
we were to love
first,
last,
And always?

Reflections on a Flame

Small and focused,
Still and tall;
Dispels the darkness
Without a sound.

Sermon: "God Sings the Body Electric", Song of Solomon 4:1-7/Acts 1:6-11 (May 8, 2016)

5/8/16

Sermon video here.

Every good sermon starts with a flashback to English class, right? Well, this one does, anyway: in 1855, poet Walt Whitman published “I Sing the Body Electric”, his ode to the human form. This poem celebrates the body’s magnificence in both its function and beauty. It’s an incredibly detailed work, including entire sections that are nothing more than lists of body parts—albeit, lists that manage to convey the poet’s sense of awe: “Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges…/Wrist and wrist-joints, hand, palm, knuckles, thumb, forefinger, finger-joints, finger-nails …” Over the course of its nine sections, Whitman describes the human form in exquisite detail and proclaims ALL bodies—male, female, black, white, young, old—as awe-inspiring and worthy of honor.