Category Archives: Time after Pentecost

End of Story: Waiting in the Dark – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13

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In 1961, my family moved into a house that was a model of modern innovation. The bedrooms had built-in desks with fluorescent light fixtures, and the closets had sliding doors. The kitchen was all-electric, and there were not only one, but two picture windows looking out over the golf course across the road. But the feature that set this house apart was not visible from the road, or even from inside that all-electric kitchen.

This house had its own bomb shelter, already equipped with blankets, flashlights, jugs of water, and food rations packed in barrels. It was the epitome of middle class preparedness for surviving a nuclear attack. Should anyone decide to “drop the bomb” on southeast Kansas, our family was ready for disaster. We were prepared. Continue reading →

Identity Markers: Whose Image? – Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22

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October 18, 2020 video available here
We’ve learned a lot from Paul’s letter to the Philippians over the past few weeks, but this week we jump back into the gospel according to Matthew. We’re discovering the identity markers that tell others we belong to Jesus. We’ve explored the markers of humility in obedience, surrender, and joy. In today’s reading, Jesus teaches us how the image we present to the world is a key indicator of where our allegiance really lies. Continue reading →

Identity Markers: Pressing On – Sermon on Philippians 3:4b-16

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Watch this message as preached on October 4, 2020 – video here

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul describes a life of discipleship. He tells us in no uncertain terms what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. But he begins by telling us what a disciple is not, and he uses his own life as an example. Continue reading →

Identity Markers: Of the Same Mind – Sermon on Philippians 2:1-13

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A video of this sermon preached on September 27, 2020 is available here.

Note: The gospel lesson for this Sunday is Matthew 21:23-32, and should be read immediately before this sermon.

Imagine the frustration those priests and elders must have felt in the gospel reading we just heard! Jesus was always catching these leaders in their own words, making them look foolish in the eyes of the people. They liked the respect shown to them in the streets and the markets. They loved being the ones in authority. And here was this unschooled carpenter, teaching right under their noses, sounding like he knew God more intimately than any human possibly could. Continue reading →

Forgive Again – Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35

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Revised for September 13, 2020

I don’t think any of us call ourselves Christians with the idea of becoming less like Jesus as our goal. We’re all in it to become more like Jesus. Sometimes, it’s hard, though, isn’t it? Sometimes we’d like Jesus to let us off the hook a little bit, tell us what we are doing is good enough, pat us on the head and let us get on with being a little less like him. Right? But it never seems to work that way. Continue reading →

Discipleship 101: Dealing with Conflict – Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20

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Watch a video from 2017 of this sermon here.

Last week, we learned how following Jesus means surrendering our entire selves to God, just as Jesus did. We saw how discipleship connects the Kingdom of God to our earthly existence, and stretches our earthly walk toward God’s kingdom. We saw Peter rebuke Jesus, and Jesus rebuke Peter, and we were reminded that taking up our cross can often put us at odds with the world, and sometimes even with each other.

What happens when a brother or sister hurts us, or we have a sharp disagreement with someone? How are we supposed to be honest and loving at the same time? How do we maintain open lines of communication to promote healing and unity within Christ’s kingdom here on earth?

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Discipleship 101: The Marks of a Disciple – sermon on Romans 12:9-21

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Watch a video of this sermon as preached for the United Methodist Church of Le Sueur, MN on September 3, 2023.

Last week, we heard the Apostle Paul encourage us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We learned that we do this, not by being conformed to the world, but by being transformed through the renewing of our minds, so we can discern God’s good and acceptable and perfect will for us.

Paul went on to describe how we are each part of the Body of Christ, with many diverse gifts that help us equip ourselves, and each other, as members joined together in Christ. Living sacred lives in a secular world is really a call to discipleship. But what does that word, ‘discipleship,’ mean? What do I have to do in order to be a disciple? Continue reading →

Sacrificial Living – Sermon on Romans 12:1-8

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Romans 12:1-8

View this sermon as preached for Le Sueur United Methodist Church on August 27, 2023

Someone once said, “The problem with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar.” Maybe people cringe from offering themselves completely to God because they focus on what they will lose when they make a sacrifice. Maybe it’s because our idea of a sacrifice is pretty gory, and always fatal.

But Paul asks us to consider a different meaning for the word “sacrifice.” He calls us to remember that the root of this word is the same as the word “sacred.” Instead of thinking of a sacrifice as something we have to give up, or give away, or kill, Paul invites us to recognize that true sacrifice means setting apart something as sacred or holy. The thing we are to make holy is ourselves, our whole selves.

This changes our focus from what we lose, to how we live. How can we, as devoted followers of Jesus Christ, live sacred, set apart lives, while still staying connected to the world in which we live? How do we live in the world without being assimilated by the world? How can the way we live our lives be so full of joy and peace, so different from worldly living, that our lives attract others to Jesus?

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Intersections: Arguing with God – Sermon on Genesis 32:22-31

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First in a four-part series: Intersections – Where Faith Meets Life
August 6, 2017
(No video is available for this sermon)

This week has been a struggle for me. On Monday, a dear sister in the Lord died after a long battle with cancer. Cancer didn’t win, but Evie will be greatly missed, especially by the congregation of Bethlehem Covenant Church, where Evie worshiped and served in many ways. Then, two days later, an explosion rocked Minnehaha Academy, where both Evie and I had taught. Two more people died. Friday, a childhood friend of mine, who thought she had kicked cancer, learned that the disease has spread into her bones and her liver. She is putting her affairs in order.

While I know that God can use every circumstance for his purpose, even the painful circumstance of grief, I have to wonder what good can come out of the sorrow experienced by so many this week. Uncertainty clouds the future. What has been difficult for me, as I learned of one tragedy after another, is that I’m too far away from any of the people directly affected to do more than pray for them. Whatever comfort I can offer my friends seems thin and meaningless. I feel helpless. My prayers have often turned into arguments with God this week.

I’m not the first to fight with God. Throughout the Bible, we are given plenty of examples of struggling with the Almighty. Continue reading →

Trained for the Kingdom – Sermon on Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

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Third in a three-part series: Parables – Stories that Read Us
July 26, 2020 (Pentecost +8A)

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been listening to the parables found in Matthew 13. These are parables that read us. How we hear them depends on the condition of our hearts. If we listen well, these stories change us. They teach us about God’s kingdom, and identify us as children of that kingdom, showing us how to live into that identity. Continue reading →