Sunday, August 23, 2026 – Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 16:13-20 There was a television show I used to love called Undercover Boss. The premise was simple. The CEO of a large company would put on a disguise and go to work alongside the ordinary employees who actually made the company function. And
Sunday, August 16, 2026 – Isaiah 56:1, 6-8, Psalm 67, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28 There is something wonderfully expansive about our readings today. Isaiah hears God saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The psalmist cries, “Let all the peoples praise you,” and imagines God guiding all
Sunday, August 9, 2026 – 1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 85:8-13, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33 Fear has a way of making the world seem much larger than it really is. It magnifies every danger, every uncertainty, every possibility of failure until those things become all we can see. Most of us know what that’s like. We’ve
Sunday, August 2, 2026 – Isaiah 55:1-5, Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21 One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that my body is constantly teaching me spiritual lessons. As many of you know, I have to be pretty careful about what I eat. If I wander too far from the
Sunday, July 26, 2026 – 1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 119:129-136, Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 There’s an old fable about a traveler who set out on a long journey. Before long, a tiny pebble found its way into his sandal. It wasn’t very large. In fact, he almost ignored it. “I’ll deal with it later,”
Sunday, July 19, 2026 – Isaiah 44:6-8, Psalm 86:11-17, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Last Friday I had the joy of recording a conversation with Wm. Paul Young, author of The Shack, the novel that touched millions of readers around the world nearly twenty years ago. At the center of the story is a father
Sunday, July 12, 2026 – Isaiah 55:10-13, Psalm 65:[1-8] 9-13, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 One of the quiet miracles of summer is watching a garden come alive. A tiny seed disappears into the earth, and for a while nothing seems to happen. Then one morning a green shoot pushes through the soil. Weeks later
Sunday, July 5, 2026 – Zechariah 9:9-12, Psalm 145:8-14, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Yesterday our nation celebrated Independence Day and marked 250 years of freedom. It is right that we give thanks for those who sacrificed so that we might enjoy freedoms many people around the world still long for—freedom of conscience, freedom of
Sunday, June 21, 2026 – Jeremiah 20:7-13, Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18 While sitting at the Beer & Hymns event during Synod Assembly, drinking wine and eating nachos with people from all corners of Florida, we heard a compelling story. A young woman shared how, when she was pregnant and in need of work, she was
Sunday, June 14, 2026 – Exodus 19:2-8a, Psalm 100, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35—10:8 [9-23] One of the most fundamental questions we can ask is this: Who are we? Our readings today offer the beautiful answer that we are God’s people. In Exodus, the Israelites have just been liberated from slavery in Egypt. They haven’t yet
