This morning, just days after the elections in the United States, I preached the fifth message in a series inspired by Debie Thomas’ new book A Faith of Many Rooms: Inhabiting a More Spacious Christianity (Broadleaf, 2024). Today, we focused on wrestling.
Sermon
My message, “Wrestling with God” was based on Genesis 32:22-31.
Wrestling
You can watch the sermon below or read the manuscript (while I was informed by the manuscript I ended up preaching without referencing any written notes).
Excerpt
This week has been hard. So hard that for the first time as your pastor I changed the title of my message in the middle of the week to “Wrestling with God.” Well before I knew what I would say, I knew I needed to speak honestly about this often unspoken of aspect of a more spacious Christianity.
Whatever your experience has been this week, I need you to know that this week has been incredibly difficult for many. I’ve spent most of my time listening to and seeking to provide safe space for people who are wrestling with God and who frankly are wrestling with how welcome they truly are.
Many people in our midst are still processing, still wrestling, still despairing. Women, immigrants, those with pre-existing health conditions, and LGBTQ+ folks are asking hard questions for which no one has satisfactory answers.
The wrestling continues.
As I think about the wrestling all around me, I find myself returning to earlier stories of wrestling, including . . .