Home of the Darkwater Author
This is an adapted version of the sermon I preached this morning, the Fourth Sunday in Lent. The gospel reading was John 9:1-42. It's printed below throughout the sermon, because of the particular way I preached today. 1As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, … Continue reading Breaking Through (Sermon)
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the Second Sunday in Lent. The gospel reading was John 3:1-17. Watch the sermon online. This took place about fifteen years ago or so. I don’t recall exactly when. I do know where I was living at the time, because this took place … Continue reading Looking Deep Inside (Sermon)
So, as I blogged about a few days ago, I've been thinking and journaling about deserving since Lent began on Wednesday. I gotta tell you, this deserving stuff is hard for me. A few things have already become clear to me: First, that there is a very large, very loud part of me that feels … Continue reading This Deserving Stuff is Hard
At my therapy session this morning, we talked about how important it was that I finally made the phone call to my doctor two weeks ago. I'm now getting physical therapy, which will hopefully help my back. (So far, nothing -- but these things take time.) I shared that making that phone call was the … Continue reading What Do I Deserve in Lent?
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the First Sunday in Lent. The gospel text was Matthew 4:1-11. So Jesus had a party for his baptism. But it wasn’t like the parties that my wife and I hosted for our kids’ baptisms. Shortly after our daughter Zoe was baptized, we … Continue reading Tempting the Church (Sermon)
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached today, Ash Wednesday. The gospel text was Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. Long-time readers of this blog may notice a distinct influence from a retreat I took three years ago. Did you ever get the sense that God is hiding from you? Maybe you feel like there’s … Continue reading You and Your Father In Secret (Sermon)
I had a very intriguing meeting at church this evening. Lent begins in about a month, and we were discussing what we would be offering this year as a midweek Lenten observance. Some years we offer a worship service, other years an educational opportunity. We decided that it was time to offer some sort of … Continue reading Stoking the Fire
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C). The gospel reading was Luke 13:1-9. An adult, whom I'm calling Susan here, was baptized in worship this morning. Our hearts are broken by the news lately. Fifty people were brutally murdered by a terrorist shooter … Continue reading The Waters of Perseverance (Sermon)
A semi-fictional account of recent encounters with both my therapist and my spiritual director. I say "semi-fictional," because it didn't really happen quite as written below. However, it is all true in another way. Perhaps I could call it a "mythical account." We got deep into it that morning. Questions of career and direction. Questions … Continue reading Drifting Ashes
The Dark Voice has been talking to me a lot lately. The Dark Voice is the name I have given to the voice inside me that has been telling me lies for most of my life, lies that I have so often believed. The Dark Voice tells me things like: You are worthless. You should … Continue reading Lent with the Dark Voice
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