Sermons

Back to the Garden
October 26, 2025
In this season of the prophets, we hear the words of the Hebrew prophets speaking not only condemnation but also promise. The prophet Joel speaks to challenging times, and the words of promise resonate in our own age. Jesus speaks in parables, and his words are not simple instruction in the ways of faith, but prophetic words of both condemnation and promise. May we find hope and strength in ancient words that speak still to our times and our world.

The Fire Inside
October 19, 2025
In my sermon this week, I speak to the perilous times of the world, the ongoing challenges that appear and disappear, and to our task as people of God to persevere and find hope in the promise of what is to come. The gospel text from Luke with its parable of perseverance complements well the prophetic text from Jeremiah, in which God assures a challenged people that he has not given up on them, and that his promises endure. May we hear these words as though they are for us—and of course, they are.

A Rising Tide
October 12, 2025
On this Thanksgiving weekend, the lectionary texts say little about gratitude and nothing about harvest. And yet, they speak to how we are to live in God's world as God's grateful people. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving - may it be filled with good food, enjoyed with family and friends, and made more complete through your own offering of thanks to the God of creation, provision, and salvation.

Mind the Gap
September 28, 2025
I find it fascinating that Jesus gives the poor man a name in this parable, the only time he ever names a character in a story. But the rich man just remains the nameless rich man. South American theologian Gustavo Gutierrez was one of the founders of the movement of liberation theology, the reading of the Bible through the eyes of the poor. He challenged the wealthy rich who, like those in Amos, did nothing to alleviate the plight of the poor. He said, “You say you care about the poor; then tell me, what are their names?”

Gambling on God
September 21, 2025
This is the point of the parable, told to a people living under political occupation, economic uncertainty, spiritual exclusion, living without hope. The point is, dare to step forward in faith. Dare to plan for the future. Dare to do something different and risky that serves the Kingdom. Dare to live as though the promised Kingdom is already here.

Lost and Found
September 14, 2025
When we are open to our sense of being lost, perhaps we are also more open to being found by the loving God who seeks us out. For grace comes not by our effort, but only because it is given and we are called to stay still and become aware, for God also comes not in wind, earthquake or fire, but in a still small voice [1 Kings19:11-12] that we can only hear if we are still and open.

Counting the Cost
September 7, 2025
The message is really not about money, or armies, or even about preparation, which one might assume. The parables speak instead about realizing the cost, and being willing to make the commitment nonetheless. Jesus is speaking about discipleship and righteousness, with a clear message to the church . . .

In a Manner of Speaking
August 31, 2025
The writer exhorts Christians to hold mutual affection for one another – this is a lot more powerful a line than it appears at first glance, for in a world where everyone knew their place, where there were divides between occupations and classes and ethnic groups, the writer picks up on the inclusive nature of the gospel that is open to all, that welcomes all, that offers a deep sense of equality to all, saying “let mutual affection continue” [Hebrews 13:1]. Treat everyone as you would like them to treat you, he means.

Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down
August 24, 2025
Perhaps we need to pause and think about our Christian Sabbath – both as a day for worship and a day of rest – from time to time, as there is little in our society that encourages or supports it. Like the Israelites and early church, we need to pause for worship, to be filled with a sense of wonder, a sense of humility, a sense of gratitude.

Family Matters
August 17, 2025
In the statement “I came to bring fire to the earth” [Jesus] is announcing not apocalyptic destruction, but a burning desire to be engaged, involved, active in making the changes necessary to establish peace and justice on earth.

More than this
August 10, 2025
I don’t mean a gospel that simply speaks to the individual human condition as though it is just another way for us to self-actualize our baser desires and get what we want, claiming it is a gift from God. I mean the gospel proclaimed by Jesus Christ that is truly and genuinely concerned with the Kingdom of God, a realm of justice and peace, of care for creation and care for people, a realm where hope is realized.

Please, sir, may I have some more
August 3, 2025
Life belongs to those who look out not for number one, for self, but who share the journey together, who live well in challenging times, and knowing that living well means looking beyond oneself to a better future for all. This is the meaningful life to which Jesus calls his followers.

Baptist Spirituality: Attentiveness to God and the Confirmation of Zacchaeus
July 27, 2025
Friends, the kingdom is mysterious, like yeast in a lump of dough, a mustard seed, a crop growing of its own accord, or a thief in the night; righteousness is God’s work of transformation, good trees bearing good fruit, not those who say “Lord, Lord” but those who do the will of God, the good who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and give hospitality to strangers without thinking about it.

Balanced Life
July 20, 2025
One thing we should notice in this text is that Jesus didn’t rebuke Martha for working—He rebuked her for being worried and upset about many things instead of focusing on the one thing that mattered most.

Back to the Future
July 13, 2025
Moltmann points out that in Old Testament times, salvation meant bringing justice to an unjust world. Justice would free the oppressed people from their oppressors.

Pride and Prejudice
July 6, 2025
Today’s scripture . . . is the account of Naaman, a powerful Syrian general, and his encounter with the unexpected and transformative healing power of God. Within the layers of this narrative lies a profound exploration of human vulnerability, pride, and the surprising ways God works beyond our assumptions.

No Turning Back
June 29, 2025
For Paul, freedom is being liberated, set free, released from our own dominating sense of pride and egotism; it is letting go of all the things that keep us from being the people God created us to be. Freedom in Christ is living the life that God wants us to live.

All In
June 22, 2025
The call to freedom, according to Paul, and according to Christ is a call also to love. And that call to love is a call to acceptance, integration, belonging, in a community that symbolizes and represents the relationship to which God calls us. It is a pure and selfless love, a universal, unconditional love that transcends and persists, regardless of circumstance or personality, regardless of ethnicity or identity. Agape love is the highest form of love . . .

The Thing with Feathers
June 15, 2025
When individuals lack hope, they may struggle to find motivation, direction, and a reason to persist through challenges. This is especially true when we define hope, as many do, as simply expecting or waiting for something good. But simply waiting is not enough, and this is certainly not the biblical understanding of hope . . .

The Language of Love
June 8, 2025
As we observe Pentecost today, we may not have wind and fire, but we are here, gathered in the name of Jesus. The fire is burning, and we are doing those very things that the Church has done since that first Pentecost: worshipping, and baptizing, and being together in a community of faith that is welcoming and accepting and inclusive, and preparing to live in the world beyond the church in the light of the gospel of love. Surely the Holy Spirit is present among us now . . .

The Colour Purple
May 25, 2025

Beyond the Pale
May 18, 2025

Women’s Work
May 11, 2025

Get Off Your High Horse
May 4, 2025

Either/Or
April 27, 2025

Witness Protection
Easter — April 20, 2025

Two Truths and a Lie
Good Friday — April 18, 2025

End of the Innocence
April 13, 2025

The Eyes Have It!
April 6, 2025 (As our service was cancelled on March 30 due to a winter storm, the sermon from the 30th was preached on the 6th).

How Deep Is Your Love?
March 23, 2025

Can I Have That to Go?
March 16, 2025

A Man Without a Suit
March 9, 2025