September 27, 2020         Sermon—The Unchanging Message of Jesus Christ                     Scriptures:                       Ezekiel 18:1- 4, 25-32; Philippians 2:1-4,12-15; Matthew 21:23-32   We’re hear a lot of slippery messaging these days: Almost daily, the CDC reverses it positions about the virus. Politicians who used to champion the right to abortion are now grabbing the Evangelical vote by waving banners for the so-called “right to life.” Military and political figures who killed thousands of United States soldiers and civilians are now being styled as “patriots” whose statues we should honor. I don’t know about you, but I want to hear a message I can trust—spoken byRead More →

September 20, 2020         Sermon—The Lord and the Laborers                                     Scriptures:                       Isaiah 55:1-13; Psalm 27:1-14; Matthew 20:1-16   I’ll begin with a confession: Although this sermon focuses on the message in today’s Gospel lesson, it’s also informed by something I saw on TV this past week. And it’s real genesis is a question that I received for our Thursday evening Q&A session. I won’t read the actual question sent to me, but after you listen to the sermon, I hope you’ll know the answer. One morning this past week, on the one of the morning “news” shows I watch, I saw an interesting clip.Read More →

September 13, 2020         Sermon—The Heart of the Matter                                         Scriptures:                       Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35   If you have participated in more than one of our Zoom worship meetings, you’ve probably heard me mention (maybe way too many times) that I have a granddaughter. And I am expecting a grandson to be born in a few weeks. Having lived and looked at the rigors of sibling relationships all my life, I’m trying to help her parents get my toddler granddaughter ready for “the new boy in town.” She and I are talking about being kind and gentle because he will be “her”Read More →

September 6, 2020           Sermon — The Office of Christian Citizen                                                   Scriptures:                       Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:1-10; Matthew 18:1-20   Now is the season of political persuasion. The ads are almost shrill and insistent enough to distract our attention from the real news—the invisible menace that hangs in the air, dividing us. But I like political advertising. I like to analyze the strategies that long-timers and up-and-comers use to try convincing us that they, and only they, are the hope for “truth, justice, and the American way” (cue Superman). But have you ever noticed—the Word of God never attempts to persuade. The WordRead More →

August 30, 2020     Cycle of Discipleship Sermon—The Cycle Continues                                   Scriptures:              2 Corinthians 5:11a, 14—6:2; 1 John 1:1-9; Acts 8:26-40   Today’s sermon concludes our consideration of the cycle of discipleship. We’ve been trying to understand how Jesus made and continues to make disciples. I’m calling discipleship a “cycle” because those whom Jesus makes to be disciples he then commissions to make other disciples. That is the design Jesus describes when he instructs his disciples to “go into all the world and make disciples” (Mt 28:19a). Discipleship, as Christ intends it, is an organic reproductive process, almost like a plant dropping seeds andRead More →

August 23, 2020      Cycle of Discipleship Sermon—Empowered to Witness                Scriptures:                1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Ephesians 6:10-17; Acts 3:1-16, 4:1-10 Jesus invited listeners to follow. Jesus inspired followers to worship. He educated worshipers to love. He equipped lovers to serve. And Jesus empowered servants to witness—the final phase in the original Cycle of Discipleship. After his resurrection and just before he ascended back to the Father, Jesus promised his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Ac 1:8). ThatRead More →