Stephen Mattson recently shared a list of invalid stereotypes held by Christians about Christianity. His list includes: all your questions will be answered; you’ll be “blessed” with wealth, prosperity, comfort, and security; and you're always happy. So What? Christianity is thankfully far too rich a tradition to answer all the questions thinking people ask. It is far too deep a religion to suggest material prosperity is associated with living out one's faith; it acknowledges Read More …
Discipleship
Sermon: Misguided Expectations (#1259)
Sermon Text: Matthew 3:1-12 Sermon Excerpt I begin with a question that has likely never been asked in this sanctuary before during a service or worship. It isn’t the kind of rhetorical question I typically include in my preaching. It will likely surprise you and may even disturb you. Nevertheless I must ask it: has anyone ever tried to scare the hell out of you? During my years in Dallas there was an annual event focused on just such a goal. Of course, the organizers Read More …
Changing Careers, Changing Lives (#1258)
Jeff Ansorge recently made a huge life transition without changing careers when he left his job as an executive chef at a posh downtown Minneapolis restaurant to accept a position as the chef for the Salvation Army Eastside Corps Community Center in St. Paul. He exchanged a staff of 17 for a volunteer team of helpers and saw his salary decrease by 2/3. For Jeff, the change is a part of a wider spiritual awakening. After a childhood during which he contemplated the Roman Read More …
Inviting People to Church (#1257)
One of the most common reasons people visit a church is invitation. Church members and others actively involved in a given community of faith are those most likely to issue such invitations. Angela Jamene recently shared an apology to those who are on the receiving end of such invitations along with her understanding of what typically motivates the ask: On behalf of Christians everywhere, I would like you to know that we really, just whole-heartedly, love you. And, we want to share Read More …
My new eBook: The Jesus Priorites (#1253)
The Jesus Priorities is a collection of eight sermons I preached during the months of October and November 2013. Each sermon is based on one of the eight priorities of Jesus identified by Christopher D. Maricle in The Jesus Priorities: Eight Essential Habits (2007). The priorities are heal, love, pray, spread the Word, store up treasure in heaven, seek God’s will, value children as precious, and live with humility. As you begin your Advent journey, I encourage you to Read More …
Sermon: Ready or Not (#1252)
Sermon Text: Matthew 24:36-44 Sermon Excerpt I am good at many things, but waiting isn't one of them. Once I determine I want something, I work to achieve it. Simply waiting and allowing things to happen in good time seems unthinkable. Perhaps this is why I graduated from high school at the age of 16. It may well be why I purchased my first house while still a teenager. And, I suspect it played a role getting married to Susan less than a year after we first Read More …
Sermon: Your Healing Touch (#1245)
Sermon Text: Luke 8:40-56 Sermon Excerpt For the last eight weeks we have been exploring the priorities of Jesus. This morning, we conclude our journey with what appears to be Jesus’ top priority: healing. Did you realize that the Gospels contain three dozen different healing events? For those of you who appreciate statistics, healing lands in first place by quite a margin. Jesus is associated with 36 unique healing events, which is 50% greater than the priority that Read More …
Sermon: A Concert of Prayer (#1238)
Sermon Text: Matthew 6:5-14 Sermon Excerpt Prayer becomes a part of people’s lives in many ways. What is your story? How did you come to learn of prayer? When did you begin to pray? Maybe you remember childhood prayers – your own or those of your children or grandchildren. Simple prayers like . . . Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. OR . . . Perhaps as a youngster you were taught to Read More …
Sabbaticals for All? (#1236)
Zack Hunt recently wrote a blog post containing a rather unusual suggestion: sabbaticals from church for all churchgoers. Rather than stating with certainty that this is the best or even right way forward, he raises the idea as a possibility. Hunt suggests that we make taking a sabbatical from church an accepted, if not encouraged, part of the Christian life for lay people. That’s right. I think it might be a good idea for all of us, from time to time or even just once in our Read More …
I Am-Ness (#1232)
Ron Buford served as the lead architect of the United Church of Christ‘s (UCC) Still Speaking campaign, which began in 2002 (more here). He was the keynote speaker for the fall gathering of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ (Nov. 9, 2013). Buford's presentation focused on the theology of the Still Speaking campaign and included multiple powerful remarks about the I Am-ness of God. The two such comments that resonated most powerfully with me are: Read More …