Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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More than dogs
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11 min read
Given our country’s spotty record on race relations, on exploitation of others, it is far too easy for us to ignore our place in the mess. a call to reconciliation Proper 18B | Mark 7:24-37 Feeding the dog We don’t know the original question the woman asks Jesus. Only its subject and that she begs.…
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Breaking the rules with Jesus
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8 min read
We are so much like the Pharisees. We really are. We focus on the rules, not their purpose or how they encourage us to build strong relationships with GOD, one another, and the wider community. That is their purpose: those relationships. The rules are supposed to lead us to GOD. But we rather stay where we’re at…
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Afflicting the comfortable
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9 min read
For all the struggle and confusion and offense we take, with one another, we aren’t called to perfection or to be a church that makes everybody feel good all the time. We’re called to be at least a little uncomfortable because we need it to build the Kingdom of GOD, bring it closer, make it…
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Knowing Jesus, Knowing GOD
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10 min read
Wisdom to the Hebrew people wasn’t just learning, but was expressed in proverbs, teachings that could be memorized and shared. The more wisdom you had memorized, the wiser you were. the pursuit of wisdom, spirituality today Proper 15B | 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 & John 6:51-58 What is wisdom? Before we talk about Solomon’s legendary wisdom,…
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Broken bread, a broken father
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8 min read
Everyone who reads this story thinks Joab acted wisely. Everyone. We believe Joab was saving David from himself and was right for doing it. I’m not sure the text does, though. And I’m not sure GOD does. A vision of GOD through David and Jesus Proper 14B | 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; John 6:35, 41-51 For his own…
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Not a role model
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9 min read
David isn’t a role model. His isn’t a story to tell us that “with GOD, all things are possible.” We shouldn’t imitate David. His sin – a sin we recognize as a sin against GOD, his neighbor, and Bathsheba herself – is not our rule of life. And neither is his action on the battlefield. But…