On the day of Pentecostit’s best for us to stay quietNo one among the disciples could believe thatthe gospel is for everyone.It might shock us to hear, butthe message of God’s love is only for a select group.Never would the disciples say thatthe spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh.After all, theContinue reading “A Sermon Upside Down (Pentecost)”
Category Archives: Projects
Jellybean Easter: Black for the Tomb
Those of us who grew up Christian in the 90s (and I think in more recent decades, but I don’t want to speak for The Youths) probably encountered The Jellybean Prayer more Easters than not. We’d be presented with a little bag with one bean of each color and a note: Red is for theContinue reading “Jellybean Easter: Black for the Tomb”
How to Ruin the Christmas Pageant
Okay y’all, buckle up for How to Ruin the Christmas Pageant.
A Mother’s Day Prayer
We remember the mothers of our faith, the bearers of God’s story. We remember Rachel, Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth,and every woman who found herself unable to bear children —every woman who has faced miscarriage, infertility, and loneliness.We mourn with you.May the God who mothers each of us be a source of life for you. We rememberContinue reading “A Mother’s Day Prayer”
Room for Interpretation
The Story I was remembering the poster my youth minister had in her office when I was growing up — multiple images of Jesus, with text that stated: “Welcome to a place that believes there’s still room for interpretation.” I’d always been fascinated by that poster, and now, twenty years later, I wanted a copyContinue reading “Room for Interpretation”
Sketchy Preaching: Craft of Preaching Workshop
Click here for the Google presentation.
A Holiday for the Suffering: Today’s Nativity
At the heart of the Christmas story is a story of God’s total embodiment into suffering. God was not born into grandeur and palaces, but to an unwed mother sleeping in a stable and fleeing a murderous king. Christmas, at its core, is a holiday for the suffering.
Do you see this woman?: a preaching commentary on rape culture, Bathsheba, and the use of grace
Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy is he who sees a married woman from far off, commands her to be brought to him, rapes her, and sends her home. Happy is he who kills the husband of the woman he wants and who, when called out by the prophetContinue reading “Do you see this woman?: a preaching commentary on rape culture, Bathsheba, and the use of grace”
The Under-35 Theses
Brothers and Sisters, grace to you and peace from the Triune God. This month’s issue of The Lutheran, a monthly publication of our denomination (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), is set to publish a front page cover article by Charles Austin, called “Get set for clergy retirement wave.” Upon reading the article, we thoughtContinue reading “The Under-35 Theses”