Sermons
Why would God lead his people to the desert where they have no food? That’s what the Israelites are asking in Exodus 16. When we find ourselves in the Wilderness, we often ask the same question.
“Why have you brought me here, God?”
“Are you still even there?”
This morning, as we look for God in the Wilderness, we see that God is not only present, but his mercy is over the top.
As the parched Israelites get to a desert spring so bitter they can’t drink it, they assume God is cruel, not merciful. Yet this water is the greatest mercy imaginable.
Today, with the benefit of hindsight, we realize God’s mercy is sometimes so lavish that it’s beyond our understanding and even offensive. Will you allow God’s sweet mercy to overcome the bitter taste in your mouth?
The week after Jesus rose from the dead his followers were in disbelief. Some had seen him, but most hadn’t. They were tentative. Afraid. Unsure what to think. Thomas famously insisted, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
“Doubting Thomas” often gets a bad rap, but don’t we often feel the same way? When we have to see something to believe it, what happens when Jesus shows up? Can doubt and belief coexist?
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb. After suffering the disorientation and fear of watching their Lord and friend killed, they were further confronted by an earthquake and an angel “whose appearance was like lightning.” What was their response?
They went where God called them, “afraid yet filled with joy.” Fear and joy are not binary opposites. They coexist, but because of the empty tomb, our joy outweighs our fear.
Palm Sunday is a day filled with tension. We rejoice that Jesus our King enters Jerusalem triumphantly, yet he is only days from being sentenced to death. Why would God allow worship to coexist with suffering, and how can we reconcile the two?
Jesus teaches us to spurn anxiety about our physical needs, but in the middle of a virus outbreak, that seems difficult. How do we avoid anxiety?
Jesus tells us to shift our focus. “Do not seek after those things, but seek God’s kingdom.”
What does it look like to seek his kingdom? Does that mean we shouldn’t think about the virus at all?
The COVID-19 virus has emerged as a sudden and unavoidable part of life, and many of our life rhythms have been thrown into chaos. Although we are only at the very outset of this outbreak and do not know how severe it will be, many of us feel anxious about both the present and the future. How ought we to think about anxiety? This morning we look to the example of Job, who found a way, in profound suffering, to insist, “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
St. Augustine noted that pride is the root from which all other sins grow. As we think about the seven deadly sins this Lent season, we ask, “How can we ‘achieve’ humility?”
This morning we look to the story of Saul, the first king of Israel, whose downward spiral forces us to confront the possibility that our hearts might also be deceived. And we ask, “If something like this can happen to Saul, where do we find hope?”
Most everybody understands the importance of having a firm foundation under their house. And most would agree that we should build our lives on a firm foundation. But what is that foundation?
This morning we think about what it means to build our lives on a solid foundation—a foundation of stone, and not of sand, in Jesus’ words. Jesus says the firm foundation is not moralism or behaviorism, but knowing him. Which begs the question, how do we know Jesus?
Have you ever heard someone talk about trying to stay on the “straight and narrow?” The Cambridge Dictionary illustrates the phrase in this way: “The threat of a good beating should keep him on the straight and narrow.”
Often we think about staying on the “straight and narrow” as a way to avoid punishment. But Jesus presents the “straight and narrow” as a path to a rich, joyful life. How do we know if we’re on the straight and narrow, and if we’re not, how do we get on it?
It has been said that you should never discuss religion or politics in polite company. This morning we wade into both streams. During an election season, how does our faith affect our politics? How should we think about voting, and about civic life as Christians and as political citizens?
None of us wants to feel judged, but how often do we sense a critical spirit in ourselves? How often do we judge others?
Most of us would probably say we want to be less judgmental. But how is that possible, when the natural tendency of our lives is to jump to judgment instead of inclining to understanding?
Jesus teaches us three questions we can ask to diagnose our hearts, and it leads us to one central truth: God, the great judge of the universe, judged his own son so that we might be free from judgment.
Both Christians and non-Christians love to quote Jesus’ words from Matthew 7, “Judge not.” Nobody wants to be (or feel) judged. But as Jesus points out, we ourselves are quick to judge.
Jesus is not teaching only about an action, but about a heart-level attitude. And he cautions us against applying a higher standard to others than to ourselves. Are there situations in which judgment might be appropriate? And if so, by what standard do we judge ourselves?
As Jesus finishes his teaching about money and possessions he encourages us, “Do not worry.” To which many of us respond, “Yeah, right.”
Worry figures prominently in many of our lives. We can’t imagine a life without worry, and if we could, we wouldn’t know where to start.
What is worry, where are our worries rooted, and how can we overcome worry? Listen as Jesus teaches us how to find true security and significance.
It’s been said that any pastor who preaches as much about money as Jesus talked about money will be run out of the pulpit.
Jesus had plenty to say about how we earn, spend, save, and give our money. Why does he talk about money so much?
We get a hint in his famous saying, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
God doesn’t need your money; he wants your heart. And your heart and your checkbook (or credit card) are closely intertwined. What does it look like to truly treasure God?
In the new year we often evaluate the previous year and make plans (resolutions) for the coming year, so that our lives can more closely match our priorities.
In Matthew 6 Jesus gets to the heart of our priorities, forcing each of us to ask ourselves, “What do I truly treasure in life?”
How we spend our time reveals our priorities. How can we spend our time in a way that treasures Christ?
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—unexpected, and in at least two cases, scandalous.
This morning we conclude by reading about David and “the wife of Uriah” (we know her as Bathsheba). In the face of patent adultery and Nathan’s clever conviction, David responds contritely, repents, and God “takes away his sin.”
Could the same be true of us? Can God take away our sin and our shame simply through confession and turning from sin?
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—unexpected, and in at least two cases, scandalous.
This morning we dig into the story of Ruth, a woman who showed extraordinary trust despite dire events in her life. What does the story of Ruth reveal about her God? And could our hope possibly be even greater than hers?
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—scandalous not only for their inclusion, but for the stories they represent.
This morning we look at Tamar and Judah. Why are they celebrated among Jesus’ ancestors, given their extraordinary deceit?
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—scandalous not only for their inclusion, but for the stories they represent.
This morning we look at Rahab. Why is she celebrated among Jesus’ ancestors? What is so remarkable about her inclusion in this list? And how does she offer hope to the rest of us?
