Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? A song that you find yourself humming or singing over and over again? A song that no matter how hard you try and forget it just doesnʼt go away? That song is what Easter should be for the church. Every year we come back to this same story of Jesus being crucified, buried, and raised again. But it isnʼt just today that we hear this story, we are going to be hearing about Christʼs resurrection for the next 7 weeks as we move through a season of the … [Read more...]
Sermons Archive
A Rock and a Hard Place
Aron Ralston was an experienced, 27-yr. old outdoorsman and he was looking for adventure. One day in April of 2003 he decided to drive to a remote desert area of southeastern Utah to explore one of its many deep and narrow slot canyons. Aron went by himself and he didn’t tell anyone where he was going because he thought he could handle just about anything. But Aron wasn’t ready. A large boulder came loose from the canyon he was exploring. Both he and the boulder fell to the bottom of the … [Read more...]
A New Commandment
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." A new commandment. A new commandment?? God gave the commandment to love one another centuries before Jesus came on the scene. In Deuteronomy, ch.6 we hear this commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and your neighbor as yourself. So why does … [Read more...]
The Hunger Games
It is good to have children in worship this morning! It is good to hear them sing! Children, according to Jesus, represent the very kingdom of heaven. Unless you change and become like children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, he said. How can we understand what that means unless they are among us to study and to ponder? Let the little children come unto me, and do not forbid them, for to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven... Whoever welcomes one such child in my name … [Read more...]
The Bigger God
During the medieval period, Christian scholars spent a lot of time thinking about pins. More specifically, they spent time thinking about how many angels could sit on the head of a pin. This may seem like a silly debate, but what these thinkers were really interested in was space. Specifically how much space spiritual beings like angels or God took up. Space is an important thing to us humans, even though we may not talk about it a lot. Unlike the infinite number of angelic bodies medieval … [Read more...]
The Kingdom is At Hand!
I’d like everyone to take one arm and stretch it out in front of you. Now take the other arm and stretch it out in front of you; take one hand and touch the other. Anyone not able to do that? 14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God [is at hand]; repent, and believe in the good news." The kingdom is at hand. The translation you have in front of you says, “The kingdom has come near,” … [Read more...]
Down the Mountain
(Part I) Most of you know that back in the summer of 2010 I climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier. Last year, as you also know, I reached the summit of Mt. Baker. In fact, of Washington State’s five volcanoes, I’ve been to the summit of four. On all these occasions the sky was blue, the weather was perfect, the views were spectacular. There’s a reason people use the phrase “mountain-top experience” to describe an emotional high. But mountain climbers know there’s more to the story than that. … [Read more...]
Limited!
There have been a slew of films featuring comic book heroes over the course of the last few years. One of the conventions in all these films is to tell the superheroʼs origin story, which unpacks who the character was before they got their superpowers. This plot device is based on the assumption that how a character begins is important for audiences to understand where they end up. Those who compiled the scriptures had a similar idea. Our origin story is written right into the beginning of the … [Read more...]
A Question of Authority
Last Wednesday I was invited as a guest to a Christian men’s book and Bible study in Auburn. Nine of us gathered to share a potluck meal, a check-in time, and the study itself. I was the only pastor in the group and was younger than almost everyone because this is a retired men’s Bible study. But as remarkable as all this is, what’s really impressive is that this group of men from different denominations has been meeting in the same home every week for fifteen years. Each of us chooses who or … [Read more...]
Opposite Day
I have lived in Seattle for nearly four years now, and I am still surprised at how the city reacts to snow. Even on Tuesday afternoon, when there wasnʼt even a cloud in the sky, schools were closing early, businesses were locking their doors, and people were running to the grocery store to get stocked up. Like some of you, I grew up in the Midwest and the thought of an entire city shutting down for 8-10 inches of snow seems absolutely ridiculous. The fact that such a forecast could inspire such … [Read more...]
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