11.05.2017       Preaching Text: “[When] you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Last week we talked about how translating the Bible from Latin into popular vernacular was an important project within the Protestant […]

Preaching Text: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) Let’s face it. The Bible is full of nasty words. Especially when seen through the lens of our modern therapeutic […]

04.23.2017 How are Christians to understand nature? That’s a question naturally raised on this, the Justice & Peace Committee’s commemoration of Earth Day, a day that argues for the proper stewardship of our natural world. I chose Francis of Assisi’s famous Canticle of Creation as our prayer of invocation, mindful that a few weeks back […]

04.16.2017       Preaching Text: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above…” (Colossians 3:1) Every year on Good Friday, from noon to three (the time tradition has it Jesus hung on the cross), Linda and I sit in the sanctuary in silent prayer. And every year I discover something new […]

04.09.2017     Preaching Text: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5) Every year I start out telling you the same thing. Though today is commonly known as Palm Sunday, in recent years it has also come to be known as Passion Sunday. This shift of emphasis has taken place […]

03.19.2017     Preaching Text: “We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand – out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” (Romans 5:5, MSG) Last week, the lectionary highlighted the beginning of “salvation history” as Abraham is called to serve as the very first […]

03.12.2017     Preaching Text: “[No] one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3) The stories of Abram and Nicodemus have something in common. Both involve change as each is invited to embark upon an entirely new life. Both stories, of course, could be read woodenly. In Abram’s case, he leaves […]

03.05.2017         Preaching Text: “And the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” (Matthew 4:11) In today’s reading from Matthew we encounter a not unfamiliar situation or experience. Perhaps I should explain. Here Jesus’ baptism is followed immediately by his “temptation in the wilderness.” In other words, a glorious spiritual high is […]

02.26.2017     Preaching Text: “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’” (Matthew 17:9) A week ago Saturday we held a memorial service for our friend, Libby Damon. When I sat down to put my thoughts […]

02.19.2017     Preaching Text: “[You] belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” (1 Corinthians 3:22) If you could summarize the lectionary readings over the last few weeks, you might say they’re mostly about fellowship and the law. Or community and covenant. How we as Christ’s disciples live together, in other words, depends in large part […]

02.12.2017     Preaching Text: “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:7) Paul is at it again this week. And what’s most surprising, perhaps, is his willingness to persist in discussing openly the problems in his beloved church, a community he […]

“As I Was Saying . . .” 02.05.2017     Preaching Text: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12) Over the last few weeks, rather than reading through a given book of […]