Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Preaching

Sermons, homilies, meditations, and reflections on the art of preaching.

  • As a preacher, I love the lectionary for its seasons, but hate all of the jumping around! This week’s story comes in between the Baptism (1/13) and the visit to the synagogue (1/20 & 27). Now we jump back to the middle. But that might be able to help us understand what is going on.…

  • This week’s Eating Scripture was derailed by my birthday and a funeral. Hopefully your appetite is insatiable! This week, we get the second half of the Jesus preaching in the synagogue story. The first half was all sunshine and butterflies and the second is all violence and horror.There are some incredible pieces to chew on…

  • Throughout Epiphany, we get these tasty hors d’oeuvres of Jesus going about fulfilling His mission. In this week’s reading from Luke, Jesus reads a pointed piece of Scripture, hands it back, and sits down. What do you think this has to do with the Jesus’s mission? A lot. Eating Scripture is a short video series…

  • a Sermon for Christmas Merry Christmas! We have joyously arrived at the eve of Christmas, that day in which we celebrate, not just the birthday of a special child, but the very incarnation of GOD: GOD’s incredible presence with us and in our world. It is one of our favorite feasts and holidays. One that…

  • Who He Will Be

    a Sermon for Epiphany Text: Matthew 2:1-12 Mixed Origins Today we celebrate The Epiphany: a church holiday with two origin stories. A day that we know is important, but have trouble with understanding why. A day that pales in comparison to Christmas, and yet the church has historically understood as greater. In the Epiphany, we…

  • Eating Scripture took a holiday to fast for a few weeks, but returns today with a serious hunger, eager to devour Epiphany! In Epiphany, we are challenged by the fact that what the holiday is intending to deal with is nothing like what people feel on that day. It began as a celebration of Jesus’s…