We Your People, Ours the Journey
a webspace devoted to sermons, thoughts and ramblings from the ministerial journey
"Bullfrog Spirituality" (May 13, 2018) God calls all things holy-- and is present to us in all kinds of ways that are also all holy. Sometimes, we find God in surprising places, a reminder that everything, yes even a bullfrog, is holy. (Luke 24:44-53) At the conclusion of the sermon, I played this video of… Continue reading Sermon: Bullfrog Spirituality
"Let (it) Go- Leaving Behind what We Don't Need" (May 21, 2017) Sometimes, too much change, even good change, like leaving behind oppression in Egypt, or like God conquering death in Jesus Christ, can throw us off balance. It can be hard to let go of the past, no matter what that past is like.… Continue reading Sermon: Let (it) Go
"Re-Form- Leaving Comfortable Places" (April 23, 2017) The more we learn about butterflies (and moths) and the process of metamorphosis, the better it preaches about the transformations of the Christian life. Tombs, cocoons (or chrysalises), wombs, and locked rooms may seem like safe places, but instead are the places where Jesus finds us. Like the… Continue reading Sermon: Re-Form- Leaving Comfortable Places
"Reclaiming Tradition" (November 27, 2016) When King Josiah and his people discovered the Word of God, buried in the Temple, they knew it was time to recommit to the faith of the past. Sometime, the Word of God is hidden in the rubble of old traditions and crumbled lives, and it's up to us to… Continue reading Sermon: Reclaiming Tradition
"Redeeming Blood" (March 13, 2016) I've never been comfortable with embracing the blood and suffering of Jesus' death, not because I'm squeamish, but because I don't like what that says about God. But if redemption is in Christ's blood (just like, as an Italian, hospitality is in mine), is it possible to redeem this image… Continue reading Sermon: Redeeming Blood
"Whatever Forms" (January 24, 2106) One part of our baptismal and membership vow as members of the Methodist Church is to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. So, that could be quite a lot, really... (Luke 4:14-21) What's your life verse?
"Crumbled Grace" (September 6, 2015) A woman came to Jesus, begging for healing for her child, and she was Syrian... I mean, Syrophoenician. Dare we believe, even in the face of global crisis, that the smallest act of love, the smallest scrap of grace, makes a difference? (Mark 7:24-37)
Prayer, Interrupted (June 28, 2015) With grief and sorrow, and the commitment not just to pray, but to act, we lift our laments for the attack on Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina. (Psalm 130, 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27) - - - I quote from a reflection by my colleague, Steve Garnaas-Holmes.
"Wind, Water, Flame" (May 24, 2015, Pentecost) We talk about the Holy Spirit in curious ways-- ways that perhaps betray our discomfort with it's unpredictable, life-shaking nature. Are we ready to let the Spirit shake us up, let it rock us? (Acts 2:1-6, 12-21) --- (money shot for those who want to hear me sing at… Continue reading Sermon: Wind, Water, Flame
"What's to Stop Me?" (May 3, 2015) While we tend to see so many labels and categories, fragmenting humanity into different boxes, Jesus and his early followers broke down these barriers and eliminated the separations between people in creating a new beloved community. As Phillip and the traveler on the road to Gaza discover, there… Continue reading Sermon: What’s to Stop Me?
We Your People, Ours the Journey 