Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain Sermon Series – Resisting Christian Nationalism References to Christian Nationalism have been part of public conversations for a few years now. But what is it? How did it become so prominent in some parts of the Church? And what can we do to resist the harm Christian Nationalism does to the Gospel and to…
Here, There, or Everywhere? Seventh Sunday of Easter The Ascension of Christ might raise a lot of questions of physics, biology, and history. But underneath these intriguing questions is a core truth of our faith – what we once experienced in Jesus of Nazareth is now a universal truth. The wandering Galilean rabbi has now become Lord of all. How…
All Things New: Fifth Sunday of Easter We often think that the goal of our Christian faith is to get ourselves to heaven. Would you be surprised to know that God’s final goal is just the opposite – to bring heaven to earth? The Revelation to John is filled with strange symbols and imagery, but it’s message is clear: God’s…
A Holy (Holy, Holy) Vision: Easter 4 We don’t dig into Revelation too often – but it’s a potent vision for what God wills for us, and can invigorate our ideas about what it means to be the Church. One of the extraordinary moments of John’s vision: the multitude of faithful, from every nation, race, and language, gathered together in…
Restoring All Things The story of the restoration of Peter is a subtle, profound reflection on the gracious nature of Christ – the disciple who denies Jesus is restored in love. This is, of course, the very nature of the whole of Christ’s ministry. Christ’s restoration of Peter is our own story and Christ’s imperative to Peter is ours as…
Graves, Gardeners and What God Will Do It is THE high holy day of the Christian liturgical year. And we’ll celebrate the resurrection of Christ together with joyful music and celebration. Like Mary Magdalene, who is not expecting to meet Jesus in the garden tomb, we’ll be invited to meet Christ in unexpected ways. Before and between the services we’ll…
Not Like We Imagine As we begin Holy Week, we join the procession as Jesus enters Jerusalem. We know this story well – the crowds of children singing and praising God, the palm branches waving, the celebration of the coming triumph of Christ. But, as with many stories of Scripture, this one may not have been like we imagine. And…
Double Vision Scripture is filled with images of triumph and joy as well as images of heartache and lament. The world and humanity are portrayed sometimes as beautiful and holy, and other times they are portrayed as awful and nearly hopeless. Which of these ways of seeing is true? Perhaps our faith calls us to a kind of double vision…
POV The parable of the forgiving father (usually called the ‘Prodigal Son’) is a lesson in God’s gracious forgiveness and reconciliation. We know that story – the son who runs away and slinks back home, destitute, and the father who runs to greet him an restore him to the family. But the story ends with another character – the brother…
Could & Should The prophet Isaiah reminds the people of Israel what can and will be – that God is moving to bring the fullness of life to the people. Jesus uses a strange illustration about a fig tree to remind his disciples of God’s sustaining grace. And in the midst of trials and tribulations, we are reminded that it…
Jerusalem, Jerusalem & Us To whom do we belong? What holds our allegiance? Jesus laments over Jerusalem, and yearns for the day when we let go of our fight against love and the prophets of God. We, too, lament the rage and spite that fills our world, and too often fills our own hearts. But there is hope – our…
Turning It Around As we begin this season of Lent, we hear the story of Jesus’ temptation, and in that story we might hear the story of our own temptations. Unlike Jesus, we often are swayed and give in – not to turn stones to bread, or lead the kingdoms of the world, or leap off the Temple spire, but…