Sermon: I Wanna Be Like Christ, Philippians 2:1-13 (May 17, 2026)

Do any of you remember the “Be Like Mike” commercial for Gatorade from back in the ‘90s? Even though I was only about five when it came out, I can still remember it. The ad took video clips from some of Michael Jordan’s most impressive moments on the court and cut them together with clips of regular kids and teens playing basketball outside (presumably they were trying to emulate the pro ball player). The footage was accompanied by children’s voices singing about their dreams of being “like Mike.” And just in case the song and video didn’t communicate the commercial’s message clearly enough, the spot ends with the words, “Be like Mike. Drink Gatorade” in big, bold letters over a black background. 

Sermon: Listen, Learn, & Love, Philippians 1-11(12-18) (May 10, 2026)

Anyone who’s ever read the epistles in any depth can tell you that Paul’s theology is firmly rooted in agape. As you may or may not recall, “agape” is the Greek word for active, unconditional, and sacrificial love, the type of love that seeks the well-being of others without expecting anything in return. It’s the kind of love that God has for humanity and that Jesus exhorts us to practice towards one another. It most famously shows up in chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians - “Now faith, hope, and love remain - these three things - and the greatest of these is love”  - but between the noun, verb, and adjective forms of the word, agape is mentioned as many as 136 times throughout the epistles. Paul clearly considers it foundational to the gospel’s message. 

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: “Love’s Prerogative”, 1 Corinthians 8 (January 31, 2021)

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Whether you realize it or not, you’re already quite familiar with Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians—at least one particular part of it. “Love is patient; love is kind; Love never ends…Now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is Love.” These words are from 1 Corinthians 13 (five chapters after today’s reading). Odds are that you’ve heard this passage preached at a wedding or seen it on inspirational wall art. Many Christians embrace it as their favorite passages because, like John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13 seems to encompass the essence of our faith succinctly, memorably, and poetically.