Sermon Archives

I’m not sure what Elijah’s play is here. Does he want sympathy from God? Does he want God to show him special favor? Maybe Elijah is hoping that God will let him retire because it’s all become too much to handle. “Just let me go,” Elijah says to God. Not surprisingly, God does not let […]

Pentecost is about power, but not the sort of power that pressures doom-spenders until they feel trapped in a pattern of excessive consumerism. The Greek word for “power” is a common one throughout the book of Acts. The word is dunamis, from which comes our word “dynamite.” Dynamite is destructive by its very nature, but […]

Revelation 22 closes with a beautiful reminder: “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (v. 20). Our response to the promised reward Jesus offers should be one of anticipation and readiness. Just as we prepare ourselves for service in this world, looking to do our […]

Today’s churches need to ask: “Are we in the church business, propping up the institution? Or are we in the Gospel business, loving God and our neighbor? Is the focus of our attention primarily on the inside of the stained glass among our own members or on the outside among people on the fringe? Are […]

The Book of Revelation is full of otherworldly images; but Revelation is meant to be a guide that helps us align ourselves with God’s goal for human life, building a new heaven and a new earth. When Lisa Fagin Davis first saw the Voynich Manuscript, she thought, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” […]

What is making your life’s net come up empty? What conflict has torn a hole in your net, a ragged tear in the slender, knotted cords? What past mistake now renders your net incapable of holding fish? This story teaches us that before we can fish again, we must mend our nets. Fix the rips. […]

One day, Peter and John went up to the temple, where Peter healed a crippled man and spoke about the power of Jesus to heal and forgive. A group of religious leaders came to them, “much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead” […]

The resurrection of Jesus reminds us that death is defeated, that God’s power is greater than our darkest moments, and that new life is always possible. The hope of the resurrection is for all who believe, and it transforms how we see the world and how we live our lives. This Easter Sunday, as we […]

We witness the execution by embracing a life of sacrificial service. Hebrews speaks of a ministry of encouragement and mutual support (10:24-25), one that involves meeting together, provoking one another to love and good deeds, and acting as a passionate community of faith. The cross is powerfully provocative as it calls us forth and stimulates […]