Less is More
Lent, as you all know, is a fasting season. We give up certain vices or even necessities – chocolate, meat, caffeine, food, alcohol, or even TV and media. It’s a time of sacrifice, but why? Why do we give up something? We do it to gain something greater. Giving up the earthly creates space for the spiritual to grow. If I want to grow a garden of vegetables, I first have to clear out the weeds and rocks and flowers from the space. Each sermon will examine something that we could stand to give up in order to gain something greater.
Things Fall Apart
John 11 is one of my favorite passages. This sermon zooms in on Mary and Martha’s grief. Martha especially speaks a perfectly pointed barb at Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha is speaking the problem of evil in the most personal terms. Where is God in the midst of our pain? If bad things happen, then God either doesn’t care, can’t do…
Streams of Living Water
Sermon from March 26, 2017. The Gospel text is John 4:5-30, 39-42 which is read after the “sermon” today. The style is different than usual, but different causes us to pause sometimes. After the reading of John 4, the congregation was invited to the altar table to get a cup of water, mimicking the journey of the Samaritans coming down to the well to partake of…
Fortunate Son
Sermon from John 3:1-17. The title comes from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. It’s about how they aren’t men of means; they didn’t come from families of wealth or power. It’s appropriate for the day. Nicodemus has trouble thinking through what Jesus is teaching. For centuries, the idea of God’s favor and grace was about being descendants of Abraham, therefore heirs…
You (Don’t) Got This
Of all things, Jesus seeks out this temptation! He moves into the desert expressly for temptation and trial. Satan’s temptations are cruelly consistent with Jesus’ goals and desires, and yet he resists. Meanwhile, Adam and Eve cannot keep from eating one piece of fruit on the buffet table. This sermon is about giving up our desire for power over ourselves. Will power, but…