Ephesians 1:11-25 When I was a child we played a travel game we called “when I go on a trip.” It went like this, the first person would say “I am going on a trip and in my suitcase I packed an Aardvark.” The next person had to say: “I’m going on a trip and… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, July 14, 2024
The lectionary reading from 2 Corinthians is straightforward. The congregation in Macedonia has come to the aid of the congregation in Corinth and Paul is very happy about this show of support. I’ll get back to that in a minute. The really interesting part of the story for me is the back story. In the… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, June 30, 2024
Mark 4:35-41 One of my favorite books is a small volume titled Strength to Love. It is a collection on sermons that Marting Luther King, Jr. preached at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. The book was published in 1963. In the Preface, King wrote: “In these days of uncertainty the evils of… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, June 23, 2024
Ezekiel 17 God’s Unfinished Business I think I will name the message this morning “God’s unfinished business.” If you have ever heard a sermon on Ezekiel, it was probably a sermon about the valley of dry bones. This is in chapter 37. The reading for this morning comes from chapter 17. Instead of dry bones,… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, June 16, 2024
Acts 10:9-28 Peter’s Dream I called this sermon “Peter’s Dream.” Maybe a better title would be “The Day Peter Got Woke.” When he fell asleep on the roof of the house in Joppa, he dreamed of a kosher world. It wasn’t just a kosher diet–I’ve never eaten anything unclean–it was a kosher world. His world… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, May 5, 2024
John5:1-15 Abide in Me It has not been a good week for sermon writing, I just have to say that. It has been a week of 6’s and 7’s, not 2’s and 4’s. Nothing fits. I listened to part of the live broadcast of the Supreme Court hearing this week. The attorneys arguing the case… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, April 28, 2024
Earth Day The text is John 10:10-16. It does not seem like an Earth Day text. It’s about thieves and hired workers and wolves and the good shepherd. Shouldn’t we be contemplating the story of creation found in Genesis—God looked on all that God made and blessed it and call it good. Or Psalm 8… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, April 21, 2024
Stop the Killing Heal the Hurting The story in Luke’s gospel, chapter 24, begins in this way. Two followers of the way of Jesus were walking down the road going toward the village of Emmaus. They were talking to each other about all the things that had happened recently in Jerusalem. The setting and the… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, April 14, 2024
Mark 16:1-8 An Easter People in a Good Friday World I love the song Every Morning is Easter Morning from Now On–thank you, Epiphany. We need to hear that good news, because so often it feels like we are living in a Good Friday world. The UN Human Rights Commission recently released a report on… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, March 31, 2024 Palm Sunday
I Corinthians 8:1-2 “Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up” “Knowledge puffs up; love builds up” If that’s true, this old world needs a whole lot more loving and a whole lot of less puffing. The Kansas ACLU says: “Our criminal justice system punishes poverty, mental illness, and substance abuse while creating a cycle of harm… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, February 4, 2024