Mission of Transformation
We are going to try a little congregational participation in the sermon today. I’m going to ask some questions, and I want to you to answer, OK? Do you remembers the first concert they ever went to? What about, the first election you ever voted in? Your first kiss? Your first communion? Final question: what do all of the last four questions have in common? That was an easy one, right? They are all about “firsts.” And, generally, even though some of these things happened many
How To Be A Disciple in a Political World
One year ago yesterday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America....Anyone feeling a little nervous about what I am going to say next? In many churches, simply stating the fact of the anniversary of the inauguration would be enough to earn the preacher a charge of “preaching politics” (the unpardonable sin of the 21st Century mainline church). It might even be enough to prompt some congregants to stand up and walk out. I trust you all
God is Watching You (And That's Not Scary).
(A Sermon on John 1:43-51; Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18) As I was meditating on our Psalm of response this week, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a song that was popular in my youth. It was the top song of the year in 1983 according to both the Grammy Awards and Rolling Stone magazine; It spent a full 9 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard charts (and reached the top spot in 5 other countries as well); And it is considered by many to be the “signature song” of the band that performe
The Dive-Bombing Holy Spirit
A sermon on Mark 1:4-11 “And just as he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.” This week I did a google search of images for the phrase “Spirit descending on Jesus” and, thanks to the magic of the internet, my computer screen was instantly populated with diverse artistic renderings of this scene. There was everything from classical art paintings, to stained glass, and from photo-realist images to childre
