You may remember the race riots in Los Angeles in March of 1991, an eruption following the four police officers brutally beating Rodney King, who was pulled over for driving while intoxicated. The beating was captured on video, and it ignited a simmering rage in the Black community in Los Angeles. You may also remember … read
This week, once again, we find ourselves with the apostle Paul and his beloved, cantankerous congregation in Corinth. You may remember that in last week’s sermon, I offered that Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to live large, and I encourage all of us to live large, expansively, with open hearts and the intention of grace. … read
Back in the olden days, most sermons considered to be good sermons followed the form of three points and a poem. Once in a while it’s good to go old school, so today I want to offer three ideas, and see if I can braid them together, and maybe close with a poem. Or a … read
When I was in seminary, around this time of year, the end of the semester, a professor or two would inevitably offer a chance to do a special project, and it was always with the best of intentions: in lieu of an academic paper, outline a sermon or a Bible study or show how you … read
If you grew up in Sunday school (as I did), you might remember the story of the boy Samuel hearing the voice of God in the middle of the night. Maybe, like me, you got to act out the story of the shuttle between Samuel’s interrupted sleep and the snoring Eli. And then the final … read
Happy birthday to the church! I thought I would see what the traditional birthday or anniversary gift might be, but when I Googled “what is the traditional 1,991st anniversary gift” (1,991 being the year 2024 less 33, the age Jesus was when he died and rose and sent the Holy Spirit to Jerusalem), I found … read