The Mediator: A Parable

This sermon I continue my look at what is going on in our culture and what it means for the church.  I talk here about living in a post-Christendom culture.  For many in established churches, this is scary stuff.  But I think the church has great opportunities ahead of it.   I am thankful to Leonard Sweet and his book "The Church of the Perfect Storm" for the general themes of this series. I want to also say that I had a picture of Jesus as a prop today.  That is important when you listen because there is a point where I reference the symbol on our Christ comment and, as people strain to see it, I made a joke about seeing it later if Jesus is in the way.  It was a reference to this picture.

26 Jan 201427min

This is the start of a series on what is going on in our culture today and how the church will need to change in the future.  Its title comes from a book of essays by Leonard Sweet.  I describe the storms differently than he does.  I talk about Post-Christendom, Post-Modern, and Post- Enlightenment.  This sermon is the introduction.  I will be looking at each storms in more detail each of the next three Sundays, and then will do a final sermon on my thoughts on the future of the church.

19 Jan 201427min

This is is not a sermon, but is an interview that I did with Dr. Andrew Purves about his teacher TF Torrance.  I and a number of other pastors are reading some of Torrance's work throughout this year.  I did this interview for those who are reading. This is a very theological discussion so you might find yourself swimming in deep water if you are a regular sermon listener. Sorry also about how quiet it is.  I recorded it in Dr. Purves' living room on my phone and it is clear but quiet.

17 Jan 201447min

This sermon is on the story of Balaam.  I am a bit playful with the story, but also really work to get at what the story is all about.  What does it mean for us as Christians to have God's words in our mouths?  How might this story challenge us for this new year?

6 Jan 201424min

Here is my Christmas Eve sermon.  Why did Jesus come?  Why a manger and swaddling clothes?

25 Dec 201314min

This sermon is an exploration of the Genealogies of Jesus.  For the most part, we ignore these passages because they are just a bunch of names to us--and different names in Matthew and Luke.  But they same some important things about Jesus...and about us.

16 Dec 201330min

This sermon is about Isaiah 59 and our need to acknowledge our need for the Christmas message.  Part of an Advent spirituality and part of taking back Christmas from our culture may be a personal journey like Scrooge had to go through.

10 Dec 201323min

In this sermon I take a look at the great divide between the message of Christmas and the message of Black Friday.  I propose an Advent spirituality as an answer to the craziness that most of us face every December.

1 Dec 201323min