Sermons

Last month I had the joy of making a pastoral visit to the home of the Newcomb family and meeting a new baby in our church family named Evelyn. Evelyn is the daughter of J.T. and Heather Newcomb and the sister of Emma. Evelyn is a new child within our community and represents new life … read

Will you pray with me? Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for being a gentle and humble king, a king that we willingly choose to follow because you are good and loving and worthy of our worship. In the name of Christ, AMEN. Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is a day in our church … read

Please pray with me…  When I saw that the lectionary option this week is the story of Jesus walking on water, I had to laugh because close to 30 years ago I preached my first sermon on this text during a Youth Sunday service. I was a teenager, maybe 16 or 17. I wish I … read

In the summer of 2006, my wife, Karen, and I went on a pilgrimage to Scotland with a group of about ten people. For those of you new to the experience of a pilgrimage, imagine a vacation that involves an intentional focus on prayer and that includes visiting sacred historical sites where people for centuries … read

So picture this: Harold Kurtz, my dad, whom many of you knew, is about thirty years old. He has gone with his wife and three young daughters, including both Janie and me, to Ethiopia. He has been in language school. Now he has malaria, boomeranging from chills to fever. He wants to be part of … read