Ezekiel 37: 1-14 Can you still remember what you gave up for Lent? We have given up a lot in the past few weeks – handshakes, warm embraces, shopping, haircuts and a cup of coffee with a friend. Worse, things have been taken away from us – Sunday gatherings, security, health, 3 million jobs. In the midst of … Continue reading Can These Dry Bones Live?
Exodus 17:1-7 Preached on the first Sunday of the COVID-19 suspension of public worship. I was taken aback when I walked into the conference room at my first church. The faded institutional yellow paint was peeling. A beat up wooden table was surrounded by metal folding chairs. A decades old stretcher in the corner on battered wooden poles, … Continue reading Faith in a Time of Fear
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 We know the story. Adam and Eve. The snake and the apple. The Fall and the end of paradise. Despite all we know about the Garden of Eden, this may be the most misunderstood, poorly interpreted, and politicized story in our Bible. On close reading, you might notice that there is no apple in the story, just … Continue reading Was Eve Wrong?
http://www.firstchurches.org/tired-of-living-on-the-edge-of-apocalypse/ Luke 21: 5-19 Do you ever feel tired because you been walking at the edge of the apocalypse for too long? Every week it’s either blackouts to stifle more wild fires in California, or Venice is going the way of Atlantis. Much of Latin America and Hong Kong have been protesting in the streets … Continue reading Tired of Living on the Edge?
Luke 18:9-15 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Let me say for the record, “I am a sinner.” There, it’s out in the open now. Let’s talk about this. You may have a number of different reactions: Pastor Todd, what you done now? -or- That’s a relief! Maybe I belong here. … Continue reading How to Be a Good Sinner
Luke 17:11-19 - Parable of the Ten Lepers You already know how this sermon will end. It must end extolling the virtue of gratitude. No matter what interesting stories, or social research, or exegesis of the biblical setting or Greek word translations, the point is - gratitude is essential to faith. Gratitude is currently … Continue reading What Stops Our Gratitude?
Luke 16:1-13 (Watch video here.) This is a core value: “Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful in much, and whoever is dishonest in little is dishonest in much.” I believe the divine is seen and experienced in the small and ordinary spaces of life. The daily habits, the random acts of kindness, the quality … Continue reading All the Small Things
Luke 14:1, 7-13 September 1, 2019 Where you start matters. Starting at the top can be deceiving. Icebergs are a great example, just ask the captain of the Titanic. What you see at the surface is just a small portion of the ice mountain. If you look at the stock market, it is near all-time … Continue reading Taking the Low Seat
Luke 12:49-56 49 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but … Continue reading Through the Fire
John 18:1-20 April 21, 2019 The earliest Easter artwork, in the 4th century of Christianity, shows two Roman soldiers keeping watch at the tomb, one is asleep and sees nothing, the other is awake and staring at the empty tomb. I love the mystery in this artistic portrayal. If you aren’t awake and aware, you … Continue reading After Weeping and Ashes…Easter Joy
With all my soul 