Jan 20, 2014 | Lent, Monday Muse, sermon
The liturgical cycle functions both as a reassurance and as a challenge: it deepens our spiritual foundations to recall the stories of faith … and it challenges us to experience & live those stories afresh (preachers and congregants alike). In hopes of...
Jan 13, 2014 | Easter, Monday Muse, sermon
Not to cause anxiety, but the season of Lent begins in seven weeks. 🙂 For those who are worship planners, how are you hoping to shape the church’s experience of Lent? Sermon series are a valuable tool for creating continuity from one worship service to the next,...
Nov 25, 2013 | Advent, Christmas, Monday Muse, sermon
Growing up, the rule in my family was simple: no Christmas music before Thanksgiving. As a church pastor, I held onto that same value of honoring each season in its turn: no “Jesus is born” hymns during worship in Advent. Truth be told, however, in my...
May 1, 2013 | Jesus, sermon, vocation
In the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection, you can imagine that the disciples were wired with energy. First there was that high-strung tension in the locked room where the disciples held their collective breath in fear, not knowing if the authorities...
Apr 29, 2013 | joy, scripture, sermon
The Revelation to John is a book that provokes us with wild, vivid imagery; it twists and disorients us, so we are prompted to view the world and the Divine outside of the boxes we might otherwise put them in. According to John’s revelation (21:1-6): When at...
Apr 7, 2013 | Easter, ministry, sermon, vocation
So Easter Sunday comes and goes. We delight for a reason to wear our best spring outfits and share a good meal. We sing our Easter hymns triumphantly. We celebrate the good news of an empty tomb, the satisfying victory of life over death. Then we enter the season of...
