“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus says. The disciples are astonished. We have a problem here, but it isn’t without a solution. If the goal is for a camel to go through the eye… Read more »
Posts Categorized: sermons
Prophetic Windows
I want to warn you. I am about to say a dirty word. There’s no way around it. It’s a word you do not use in polite conversation. You don’t bring it up amongst strangers. Are you ready for it . . . “Evangelism.” There, I said it. Several years ago while in undergrad, evangelism… Read more »
Prayer, Good God, What is it Good For?
This week on the Freakonomics podcast, Stephen Dubner interviewed Phillip Zimbardo the psychologist who developed the Stanford Prison Experiment. Zimbardo mentioned how a person’s identity is in large part a result of context and relationships, though there is a fundamental identity which reveals itself when a person experiences the unexpected. To prove this, he likes… Read more »
The People Look Like Trees Walking
I imagine that when you meet someone for the first time, you might introduce yourself by giving your name or your vocation or where you live. Jesus gathers with his disciples, and instead of saying, “I am Jesus, born from a virgin in Bethlehem,” he asks, “Who do people say that I am?” Can you… Read more »
Quick, Slow, and Slower Still
It is no secret that I am a Doctor Who fan. After all, it is the best show on television. It has everything: explosions, aliens, time travel, and the message of the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism. Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary season, the preview of which was a cowboy… Read more »
If Israel Was in Charge of the Olympics
If Israel were to ever host the Olympics, I wonder what the opening ceremony would look like? Which stories would they tell? David would certainly be part of the story. He was the underdog, the young shepherd boy who was chosen to be king. How many times will the story of David and Goliath be… Read more »
The Most Important Thing
I think I’m finally getting the hang of facebook etiquette. I’ve discovered that facebook is not the medium through which all discussions are fruitful. I now understand that any funny picture with commentary like a wrinkly-faced dog saying “Why so sad?” was originally posted on Pinterest, so I should just go there first. I also… Read more »
Shake Off the Dust: Mark 6:1-13
Several weeks ago the youth group traveled to Carter County, TN to serve with Appalachia Service Project. Mission trips such as these are miracles. They are miracles not only because youth wake up at 7:00 am for a whole week during summer vacation either to dig a drainage ditch or repair bathrooms or hang drywall… Read more »
Downton Abbey Morality: Truth and Deception
One lesson I learned at an early age is when mom asked a question, she typically already knew the answer. “What grade did you make on your math test yesterday?” was a familiar question in my high school years. I knew that mom wasn’t searching for information; rather she was giving me an opportunity to… Read more »
Downton Abbey Life: Setting the Table
Downton Abbey is the story of an aristocratic Edwardian era, English family trying to navigate the tension of a changing world. On the one hand you have the stable English social system: Lords, Dukes, Earls and footmen, valets, and butlers. On the other hand you have a quickly changing world in which the assumptions of… Read more »