Aha!
A Sermon for April 30, 2017 on Acts 2:36-41, Luke 24:13-35 Have you ever had a moment when something you’ve been trying to understand just… clicks? I’ve heard of this happening to some people as they learn to read. They learn what the letters are individually, and they learn that they go together to form words. But at some point something their brain just goes “pop” and…
Doubting like a Disciple
A Sermon for April 23, 2017 on John 20:18-31 Listen to Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek Wasn’t that song that Greg sang powerful? It’s not surprisingly called “Doubting Thomas,” and it was written by Chris Thile, the mandolin player for the bluegrass group Nickel Creek. I’ve listened to the album version of the song quite a few times in the past week, and found it to be a…
Why are you crying?
A Sermon for Easter, April 16, 2017 on John 20:1-18 “Why are you crying?” Mary Magdalene was asked. It’s a question that gets asked twice in the Gospel reading– once by the angels in the tomb, and once by Jesus himself. Mary Magdalene, why are you crying? Don’t you know it’s Easter Sunday? Let’s put ourselves in her shoes. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Mary…
Humble Awareness
A Sermon for Maundy Thursday, April 13, 2017 on John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Visual: https://goo.gl/images/C8vaJ0 Think about your tongue, and it feels all puffed up in your mouth. It’s pretty odd. But do you know what the Christian version of being aware of your tongue is? Being aware of your own humility. If you become aware that you’re humble, then you immediately start being…
Donkey Duty
A Sermon for Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017 on Matthew 21:1-11 Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of two of Jesus’ disciples: let’s call them James and John. Let me tell you about your experience. In the years that you’ve followed Jesus, you’ve been amazed by Jesus’ compassion. He would see people that the society considered untouchable– people…
Why are there bones?
A Sermon for April 2, 2017 on Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:6-11, John 11:1-45 Katie and I moved to Catonsville just as she was starting medical school. There were a couple of precocious children in our new neighborhood whose houses shared the alley with ours. They had started a newspaper called “The Alley Times” that they would put out monthly featuring news and stories that…
Why me?
Why me? A Sermon for March 26, 2017 on John 9:1-41 Why me? When troubles come our way in life and they shake us, that’s one of the first questions we ask. As soon as we’re actually able to wrap our heads around the reality of what’s happened, it doesn’t take long for the question to follow: why me? When the cancer diagnosis comes, “Why me?” When someone you love betrays…
Jesus is Not Our Waiter
A Sermon for Wednesday, March 22, 2017 on John 6:24-35 Jesus had just miraculously fed 5,000 people. This was what the Gospel of John calls a sign. It was as if God had stuck a big post in the ground and nailed a big, wooden arrow to it, and painted in beautiful, bold, bright letters: “I sent Jesus.” And then God had placed the sign in the path of 5,000 people so that…
Have you had enough to drink?
A Sermon for March 19, 2017 on John 4:5-42 It was a hot Dominican summer day at Barrio de la Playa del Muerto (“The neighborhood of the beach of the dead”). Our missions group was running a packed medical clinic and a ruthless game of soccer, along with some parachute games, and jump rope When you’re running around in the summer sun with Dominican kids, it takes some…
The Good News of Mowing the Weeds?
A Sermon for March 12, 2017 on John 3:1-17 and Romans 4 Several summers ago, I remember that Katie and I were going through a particularly busy season of life. With Katie working nearly 80 hours a week in residency and me pursuing my Master’s in Computer Science, sometimes it felt like it was all we could do to get some food cooked, the dishes and the laundry done, and…