Welcome to my sermon page! I will be adding sermons as I get them uploaded onto the web.
The first three sermons are primarily "pastoral care" sermons. The congregation had decided to sell their building, dissolve and launch new ministries--a noble, but difficult, decision. I preached Filled with Expectation in the middle of Advent in response to growing dissension. God's Beloved, preached about a month later, addresses some of the grief and fears. I deviated from the lectionary to preach For Troubled Souls three weeks before closing.
Both Hard Hearted Religion and Tourism or Solidarity? are examples of "deconstructing" a text before preaching from it.
In Hard Hearted Religion, I deconstruct old meanings by contextualizing the preached text within the gospel of Mark. In so doing, I open the possibility of new meanings.
In Solidarity or Tourism? I deconstruct old meaning by naming the many ways people have given meaning to this provocative text. Hopefully the people listening to these sermons can hear a new word from these scriptures.
Some times we read a text that has the potential to disturb, but have been exposed to it so many times we are "numb" to its shock value. Insiders and Outsiders is an attempt to disturb, disrupt and shock the congregation into a fresh hearing of this Lukan scripture.
I preached On the Way Together: Praying for Christian Unity during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
I preached Filled with Expectation to a congregation that was struggling with questions of how to move into the future. Their divergent views of the future combined with the anxiety related to making these difficult decisions had produced discord and a growing distrust within the congregation. This sermon was intended to address those concerns and remind the congregation of God's boundless grace and love.
God's Beloved, a sermon for a congregation that is about to lose their church.
For Troubled Souls was preached several weeks before the congregation's final worship service. I tried to name the many feelings and thoughts present in the congregation, and place our story in God's story.
Hard Hearted Religion is an exegetical sermon on Mark 10:2-16 that suggests that Mark's primary point in this text is to illustrate and condemn "hard hearted religion", rather than comment on marraige and divorce.
Tourism or Solidarity? is a direct challenge to those of us who see ourselves as inclusive and generous. Based on Mark 10:17-31, this sermon challenges us to take the gospel seriously, which for many includes letting go of unearned privilege based on skin color, gender, SES or sexual orientation.
Insiders and Outsiders begins with murderous townspeople and ends with a murderous preacher!