Sermons
“Maybe you can already guess what I’m going to tell you about how this applies to us, my companions in Christ. I’ll just get straight to the point. The room we are gathered in right now, what is it called? The Sanctuary, right. And in this Sanctuary, we engage in worship and fellowship, we gather here to feel closer to God and to each other. The Sign on the corner over there, also says the word Sanctuary on it. And what that tells me, and what I have felt, is that there is something life-giving about being here in this place with one another. That life-giving aspect though, it doesn’t come from us, it comes from the love of our God. And what we’ve been shown today, alongside the prophet Ezekiel, is that this love cannot be contained in any building. And quite frankly, it shouldn’t be. We have to open the doors and let the life-giving water that is pooled up against the stained glass flow out into the streets.
And so the question becomes, what does it look like to do this?”
— Sunday, August 21st, 2022
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“Now is when we get to the good part. Remember the beginning. Our watchword. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ANYTHING. If we ask anything, he hears us. And then the second part - if he hears us, then we know our prayers will be answered. Now it would seem to me that ANYTHING could definitely include a prayer from someone who has gone astray and is pleading for God’s mercy. And is it not God’s will to bring sinners back to the fold? To find the lost sheep among the hundred? To call the lost? To proclaim that sinners will enter the kingdom of God before the self-righteous? I won’t say that I am anymore qualified than the Elder to speak on behalf of how abundant God’s mercy is, but my own reading of the Bible, my experience of our Risen Savior, is that He CAN and WILL welcome any who are lost, no matter how far, back into his loving embrace.”
— Sunday, July 31st, 2022
“Correcting the ills of society, making positive changes in the way we do things, in society and in the church, that is what Jesus did. Jesus also: took the current popular interpretation of scripture and flipped on its head. He read and interpreted it into a context that was relevant to the people around him. To those who are clinging to the past way of things - like an interpretation of scripture, it always seems like new ideas are wrong ideas, and people are brought great harm for speaking these new ideas aloud: Jesus certainly was. And then today, on Pentecost, the disciples were pushed, the Holy Spirit, pushed them out of the upper room and into the street for a reason. It pushed them into the places that they were called to follow the risen Lord into. ”
— Sunday, June 5th, 2022
“Something that was true in the 1870’s is still true today and that is the fact that the gospel needs to transform to match the culture and context around it. And through the Holy Spirit, it is molded into something people can hear. The message remains the same: God’s love is for everyone. But the way it is communicated has to change in order to be heard. In order to activate someone’s heart that the Holy Spirit has already touched. This was done by the apostle Paul, it was done by the Renewed Moravian Church throughout the globe, it was done here a hundred and 30 some odd years ago, and it needs to be done more and more everyday, in every place. Remember: Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the Holy Spirit is the will that finds that way. ”
— Sunday, May 15th, 2022
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“I think it’s somewhere within the shock of faith and the experience of the risen Lord that we find our message for today. Somewhere between blaming Thomas, and recognizing that we are just like him. Even though we have not seen, we believe. We have not touched Jesus’ hands or his side wound, but we have come to know him. At the same time, we can go through our lives with a great deal of unbelief. Even though we relate to Thomas, our experience of faith, in a lot of ways, is more difficult than his was. Yes, we have the benefit of experience and knowledge passed down to us, but we don’t get to see Jesus in the flesh in the same way the 12 did. But that doesn’t mean we don’t see Him. It just means we have to work harder to do so. “
— Sunday, April 24th, 2022
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“Whenever someone is in Christ - BOOM! New creation! But I don't think this new creation is limited to a one time thing. It’s not the same as being born again, or baptized, however you think about it, though it is similar. When we first accept Christ we are made new, something about us changes, we align our priorities, and adopt different beliefs and attitudes, whether we are adults or children confirming our faith, there is something special about that experience. But this isn’t and shouldn’t be the only time we do this. Christ, invites us to experience this new creation, this personal development, everytime we turn towards him. Over and over again, we might stray, but his arms are always open, open to welcome us back in and help continue to mold us into something better.”
— Sunday, March 27th, 2022
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“Remember I said we’d come back to something in particular Simeon said? Well, he said that Jesus is destined to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed” Jesus is destined to be a sign that will be opposed. What does that mean? It seems to me that it means, because of Jesus, we are able to stand up and question the conditions that allow people to suffer, especially in our communities. It means, not just saying: “That’s just the way it is” and throwing our hands up. Because it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus didn’t just accept things as they are, and we shouldn’t either. Jesus saw his people, God’s people of Israel, being subjected to unfair and honestly cruel conditions, and as we talked about in his first public act he proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor, where the oppressed will go free. Companions in Christ, I think we need to do the same thing.”
— Sunday, February 6th, 2022
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“And I think that is my point today, companions in Christ. That it is the words and actions of the people around us that inspire us, and give us hope. That it is in the people around us that we see God’s grace, mercy, peace, and love hard at work. Because today, I think I am taking Jesus’ final statement in a different way. Because when Jesus says that this Scripture is fulfilled in our hearing TODAY. He is not only saying it to those that are in front of him, but to each person that will come after them. I believe he is saying that we have to keep proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor and working towards it until it comes. And as I speak to you today, the best way I can see for us to possibly accomplish this, is by sticking with those people that inspire us and give us hope. Because nothing worth doing is easy, but it’s a lot easier with friends at our side.”
— Sunday, January 23rd, 2022
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What is Love?
“Mary, in her proclamation, continues to describe the actions of our God. Particularly: scattering the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, bringing down the powerful and lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty. These things reinforce the message that Christ will bring to the world, a message of good news, a message of a reversal. That those who are left wanting will be taken care of. That those who are the least of us, will become the greatest among us. And in Mary’s proclamation of them today, I believe we are meant to confront our unloving ways that create situations where people are left down and out. To confront them, and to actively work towards engaging in agape love, love as a disposition.”
— Sunday, December 19th, 2021
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“Because isn’t that communion? Abundance in the face of scarcity? Open arms to welcome broken hearts? Hospitality itself? Take, eat, ALL of you, says our Lord. Not just you, because you look like me. Not just them, because they can afford it. But ALL of you, come to the table and partake. No boundaries, no exceptions. But what if I can barely make rent this month? What if I don’t have enough to put on the table for my family? If I’m not a part of the in-crowd? What if I only have a handful of flour, and a bit of oil? It doesn’t matter. Like Elijah in the story, no introduction is necessary. No resume, no paperwork. Everyone is worthy. Because our Lord says: “Come, come to the table and you will be filled.” He says, “I will take all of your worries, and all of your suffering, come to me and I will make you whole.”
— Sunday, November 7th, 2021
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