Within the Gospels, there is evidence that Jesus himself understood “the now and the not yet” of the new kind of existence God was bringing through him. That new kind of existence included self-giving, unconditional, indiscriminate love, liberating truth, deep compassion, lavish forgiveness, profound trust, and costly discipleship. Such a radical transformation takes time. Continue reading
Read the Scripture Our text for today is one of the most important passages in the New Testament. In a real sense, if we understand the Beatitudes, we will understand the message and ministry of Jesus as well as our own calling as his disciples. But we have several obstacles… Continue reading
Read the Scriptures (This is the third sermon in a Lenten series on sin. In the first sermon, we looked at sin as it relates to the past through the images of original and demonic sin. In the second sermon, we saw how sin relates to the future through a… Continue reading
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by… Continue reading
Read the Scripture (This is the first sermon in a series of three Lenten sermons on the concept of sin. The second sermon is based on Romans 8:12-17 and is entitled “Scared to Death.” The last sermon in the series is based on I Corinthians 12:12-27; John 3:16-17 and has… Continue reading
1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; 2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of… Continue reading
Read the Scripture Passages As a child, when I heard the word “lint” (pronounced the same as the word “Lent”), I thought of those little specks of whatever people would get on their clothes. I remember every Sunday morning my father using the lint brush to brush off specks on… Continue reading
Throughout our study of these opening chapters of Genesis we have discovered traditions with roots going back many, many years. We have also seen how some of the stories in these chapters may have been used at various junctures of Israel’s history. For example, the Adam and Eve story at… Continue reading
There are four primary stories in Genesis 1-11: The Story of Adam and Eve, the Story of Cain and Abel, the Story of the Flood, and the Story of the Tower of Babel. In each of these stories we see the same pattern. There is first the sin of humans;… Continue reading
(This sermon was preached in 1998 in the Wabash Christian Church (DoC). Unfortunately, the message in the sermon is still relevant today as the persecution, displacement, and slaughter of native peoples in Latin America continue in 2020.) The Mission is one of my favorite movies. This film is powerful and… Continue reading
