Sermon: “Beyond Comfort, Growing Into Your Purpose”
Back to Past Issues This sermon was preached on June 8, 2025, at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. My body, and my spirit are beginning to feel yet again tired Of being under the weight Of an all too familiar star-spangle bannered boot sole Supported by an all too familiar American boot strap. Now since […]
Preaching a Good Word for the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Back to Current Issue “Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’” – Acts 19:1-2 Without the Spirit, God is […]
When Hope Goes to Work
Back to Current Issue “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 NRSVue “Hopefulness … is the warrior emotion.” – Nick Cave Having spent much of my adult life engaged in studying and […]
Sermon: “Where Do You Stand?”
Back to Current Issue Isaiah 7:1-9, Matthew 1:18-25 Two interesting characters lie at the heart of our Scripture readings for the morning, King Ahaz of Judah and Joseph, a simple man from Bethlehem. In some ways they are very different people. Ahaz is a king; Joseph is a carpenter. They are separated by over 700 […]
Sermon: “The Way of Peace”
Back to Current Issue Luke 1: 68-79 The strange thing about peace is that we do not light the candle because of what is; we light the candle for what we hope to become. As the story goes, Zechariah was a priest of the temple, and Elizabeth, his wife, was of Aaron’s lineage. For these […]
Sermon: “On the Way to Bethlehem: Rome as A Place of Longing”
Back to Current Issue Romans 8:18-19, 24-25; Luke 2:1-3 It was on a rainy day in April, just weeks after war had broken out in Ukraine, that an aid worker named Olena Shula drove 522 miles across the country to rescue a mother and her baby, who was just seven days old. When the young […]
Sermon: “We Are Better Together”
Back to Current Issue 1 Corinthians 12:12–31 Beloved, I’ve been thinking lately about how easy it is to forget who we are when the world keeps telling us who we should be. We’re told our histories are divisive, that our stories don’t belong in classrooms, and that our pain is performance. We’re told our excellence […]
Sermon: “Every Other Year” (Advent 2)
Back to Current Issue Mark 1:1-8 I had a colleague at the first church I worked at who was a bit of a grinch. He dreaded Christmas. He was put off by the stress that Christmas produced in people: the financial burdens felt by the congregation, the mass consumerism of the season, the obligatory gatherings, […]
A Righteous Reversal: Foretelling and Foretaste (Advent 3)
Back to Current Issue Isaiah 61:1-11 Victor Hugo’s classic French novel, Les Misérables, was published in 1862. Due to eight English translations, as well as multiple musical, stage, and film adaptations, many know the basic outline of the story.1 This includes the critical encounter between the main character, Jean Valjean, who is recently released from […]
The Story Today Tells—Making Peace with the “Messy Middle”
Back to Current Issue The church lives a complicated existence. We often feel the sting of decline: how church attendance decreases, finance dwindles, and enthusiasm diminishes. Yet, studies such as one conducted by the Barna Group, tell a story of renewed engagement with Jesus-centered spirituality and theological inquiry, particularly in the young adult population.1 And […]