Sermons
Questions are okay
I should probably get it out that I have an aversion to trying to figure out what exactly biblical prophecy means. There, I have finally said it. I don’t know if it comes from my upbringing, listening to too many “teachings” about end times, or my education but I just can do it. I don’t suggest that anyone else avoid it as assiduously as I do; if this is your…
No more talking at each other
It may seem a bit ironic that I took a run at the internet in this morning’s sermons and I am now writing a blog post, which will be posted on the internet, but I am willing to live with that contradiction. As I may have mentioned in one or the other sermon it is a constant source of wonder to me that the Holy Spirit can reveal things about…
Yes, you can ask for directions
One of the more pervasive tropes in comedy is the man who will not ask directions. Like all tropes, to say nothing of cliches, it has kernel of truth. There are all sorts of men who feel their essential masculinity is called into question if they ask directions, I have never understood how getting and staying lost is masculine but I may be missing something too subtle for me. If…
Sheep and shepherds
It is one of those Sundays where the Lectionary “makes” us talk about sheep and shepherds. I quite enjoy “sheep and shepherd Sundays.” They provide an opportunity to talk about how silly sheep are and tell some funny (I hope) stories about sheep. More importantly, this Sunday is an opportunity to talk about how appropriate the image of us as sheep really is. Not just from the perspective of “we…
Not willfully blind, just blind
We are all pretty certain that we see what is in front of us. It is a certainty that stands us in good stead almost all the time. However, there is always a “however” when you are talking about sermons, there are times when we don’t see what is plainly in front of us. The example I use in both sermons is how people who have collisions with motorcycles very…
Ah, doubt
There is something about the very notion of doubt that raises the hackles of religious people. We have come to the conclusion that we are never supposed to have any doubts, about anything but especially, about what we believe. There are any number of problems with this idea not least of which is that it is impossible. I suppose I should temper that remark by saying that it is possible…
Meaning can be tricky
It can be problematic admitting ignorance or asking some questions. Not in the sense that you are displaying ignorance and as such may be considered unlettered or unlearned. Rather, when you ask a question you can’t always predict exactly what your hearers might think you mean. I remember a long time ago I was leading a Bible study for the youth of the church I was attending. One evening, as…
Why ask why?
There is something fundamentally human about the need to know why something happened. I assume it is fundamentally human because my friends and acquaintances all seem to do it and Jesus’ disciples did it thousands of years ago. The Gospel lesson for today is the whole of John 9. The story revolves around a man who was born blind and was subsequently healed by Jesus. The story is kicked off…
Getting words right matters
This Sunday’s Epistle lesson turned into another opportunity for me to revisit a couple of troublesome words. There are a lot of troublesome words in Scripture, and there is nothing wrong with finding such things. Some are troubling because we don’t fully understand them, the word we translate as “flesh” or “sinful nature,” depending on the translation, is a Greek word that means all of that and more. Some are…
Born again again?
This Sunday I think I sailed as close to the wind of heresy as I ever have . . . or will. So let me make something explicitly clear right from the beginning: the moment you move into a relationship with God through Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit (what is frequently called “conversion”) you are in that relationship. You are saved. You are converted. You have moved from death…