“Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-16 If I were to ask you to call out one adjective that you wish others […]
I have a little quiz for all of you. Now don’t worry, I think you’ll find it very easy. Just tell me what products the following advertising slogans are connected to. For any of you who are not native to this country I give you a pass for this quiz. “Just do it.”—Nike. “Plop, plop, […]
Since the middle of June, we have been listening to the story of David, our great ancestor and the one from whose line Jesus came (both literally and spiritually). And it is quite a story, and he was quite the hero. The youngest son of a shepherd, he was anointed by God to take the […]
Our Gospel reading this week from John got me thinking a lot about abundance, scarcity and excess. Here we have a story in which Jesus’ disciples see the scene in front of them through the lens of scarcity. They see thousands of people spread out before them and all they can think about is how […]
You hear me frequently refer to the Kingdom of God in my sermons. There is a very good reason for this. The Gospels are all about Jesus revealing the Kingdom of God. He talks about the Kingdom of God all the time and he tells us that all that healing, and exorcising, and sitting down […]
My preaching professor in seminary told my class that when we prepare to preach, we should look for the Good News in the passage we are preaching from. Well, some weeks are easier than others. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out […]
Over the next 11 weeks all of our Old Testament readings will be taken from the books of First and Second Samuel, so I thought it might be helpful to step back this morning and take some time to look at the bigger picture. What are these two books, which many scholars say should really […]
So, who here fully and completely understands the Trinity? Anyone? I know I sure don’t. It is one of those theological concepts that can be very difficult to grasp. Non Christians, especially those who are monotheistic—Jewish people and Muslims—will often excuse us of being tri-theistic, believing in three gods. I can understand their confusion, “God […]
This morning, I want to share with you my own personal experience of Pentecost. We often think of the Holy Spirit as something that is wild and brings chaos and disorder to our world, and sometimes it does, but other times the Holy Spirit works to bring us together, to find our commonality and to […]
s with all parables, the parable of the sheep and the goats offers many different interpretations depending on your perspective. Some argue that this parable is about the nations, or the gentiles, and Jesus is saying that those Gentiles who care for the followers of Christ will find salvation and those who don’t will be […]