Home of the Darkwater Author
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached for a Blue Christmas service on December 18, 2022. The gospel reading I preached on was John 1:1-14. You can watch the service here. The gospel reading and sermon begin around 14:30. I think there are at least two sides to Christmas. One of them … Continue reading Finding the Light of Christmas (Blue Christmas Sermon)
For my personal Advent devotions this year, I've been reading the book Wounded in Spirit: Advent Art and Meditations by David Bannon. Each day of Advent is devoted to a visual artist, usually a painter. Two or three of the artist's works are shared in full color, and an accompaning essay (or meditation) tells the … Continue reading Advent Blue
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning. The gospel text was Luke 21:5-19. It’s all falling apart, isn’t it? You know, our world, our nation. Our community. Our church. Even our bodies. It’s all falling apart. Of course, Jesus said it would. Jesus stood outside the temple, the majestic, magnificent … Continue reading Not a Hair on Your Head (Sermon)
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, on the Feast of the Holy Trinity. The reading I preached on was Romans 5:1-5. This is a sermon about suffering. And about honesty. First, let’s be honest about the world we live in. I once had the funeral for an man in … Continue reading Let’s be Honest (Sermon)
This is the final sermon in a six-week series on the book of "Crazy Uncle Revelation." The text today was Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21. I want to tell you about Wallace. Wallace doesn’t drive. He’s 34, and he has never driven a car. It’s a real hassle for him, always relying on friends and on … Continue reading Come, Lord Jesus! (Sermon)
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the Fourth Sunday of Easter. I'm preaching a sermon series on the book of Revelation; today's text was Revelation 7:9-17. Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, a fifty-day season when we focus on Jesus’ resurrection, and what that means for us. Today … Continue reading Who’s in Heaven, Anyway? (Sermon)
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)
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the Second Sunday of Easter. The gospel reading was John 20:19-31. Poor Thomas. He never wanted that nickname, but he got it. Our gospel today tells us he was known as “the Twin,” but that’s not the nickname that stuck. No, thanks to … Continue reading Doubting Tiger, Suffering Dragon
This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached this morning, the Second Sunday in Lent. The gospel text I preached on was Mark 8:31-38. Peter didn’t want to hear what Jesus was saying. Jesus said that he would undergo great suffering, be rejected, and be killed. Peter didn’t want to hear that. Jesus … Continue reading Take Up Your Suffering
Don't call me selfish. Now, I know that I am selfish sometimes. I can certainly be self-absorbed and self-centered. I can certainly be worried more about my own stuff some days than anybody else's. I can certainly fail to love my neighbor. But there's one piece of me that is so often vilified as selfish. … Continue reading Don’t Call Me Selfish
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