* a sermon preached at New Hope Lutheran Church on February 5, 2017 * Since sermons are primarily intended to be heard, you can listen along here. Texts for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany: Isaiah 58:1-12 + Psalm 112:1-10 + 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 + Matthew 5:13-20 *************** Please pray with me this morning: Holy God, You … Continue reading These Are The Facts
* a sermon preached at New Hope Lutheran Church on February 19, 2017 * Since sermons are primarily intended to be heard, you can listen along here. Texts for the 7th Sunday after the Epiphany: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 + Psalm 119:33-40 + 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 + Matthew 5:38-48 *************** Please pray with me this morning: Holy … Continue reading Love Without Restrictions
Since I'll be needing to do this regularly soon myself, I thought I'd get back into the habit of forming some thoughts for preaching this weekend. The Revised Common Lectionary texts for this weekend: Amos 7:7-17 + Psalm 82 + (or Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10) + Colossians 1:1-14 + Luke 10:25-37 --------------- I don't … Continue reading “Who Is My Neighbor?”
* A sermon preached for the finals of the James Kenneth Echols Prize for Excellence in Preaching at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago on April 28, 2016 * ** You may also want to watch and hear this sermon preached. Here is that video. And here is the audio if you prefer to just listen. ** Text: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 … Continue reading Dream On!
"It could have been me..." "It could have been been me in that club. You could be posting about me right now." "It could have been me." These very same words were posted by at least 5 of my friends yesterday after learning about the horrific massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub … Continue reading “It Could Have Been Me.”
We all have thresholds. Physical… Emotional…Financial… In whatever arena, we all have a point at which things change irreversibly. That point, for me, was last night. See, last night I watched a cell phone video of a group of police officers round up teenagers like they were animals, and then I watched one of those … Continue reading #IAmMcKinney
* a sermon preached at Luther Memorial Church of Chicago on March 1, 2015 * Text: Matthew 20:1-16 *************** Let's pray: Make us humble, Holy One, That we might receive your mercy as a gift, Whether we are last, or first, or somewhere in between. Amen. *************** When I was in college, in my last semester, I … Continue reading Worst. Pyramid Scheme. Ever.
Stop domesticating Jesus! You want prayer in schools, but you can’t stand the sight of people of faith praying in the streets. You want a nation that reflects “Christian values,” but you turn a blind eye to injustice perpetrated against the immigrant, the outcast, and those on the fringes of society. You’re so convinced that … Continue reading “I Can’t Breathe…” – Jesus
Many Christians I know hold up Micah 6:8 as one of the prime examples of how to live a Christian life. The verse is often translated: “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God?” Really nice sentiments, and honestly, not a bad way to live. … Continue reading Make Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly
the narrow way 