Sunday, November 17, 2024 – Mark 12:38-44, also 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 34:1-8, Hebrews 9:24-28. In talking about vulnerability and living on the edge, I shared last week about a time when I was financially insecure and followed an intuition. That Spirit nudge led me to an action and a connection that brought me grace […]
Sunday, November 3, 2024 – Mark 12:28-34, also Ruth 1:1-18, Psalm 146, Hebrews 9:11-14 It seems to me the world is made up of two different kinds of people: those who are kind even when it may not be expected, and those who aren’t. I’ve always thought it was a major red flag when I
Sunday, September 22, 2024 – Mark 9:30-37 also Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54, James 3:13—4:3, 7-8a Several years ago, when I left the corporate world to become a performing singer and songwriter, I was also doing some consulting work. I’d had a long career in marketing and communications, and so I used all of my skills
Sunday, September 8 – Mark 7:24-37 also Isaiah 35: 4-7a, Psalm 146, James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 “Eraser” by David Hayward | Naked Pastor You may have seen one of my favorite cartoons. It’s just a black and white sketch created by David Hayward (who goes by “Naked Pastor”) that shows a bunch of people with
Sunday, September 1, 2024 – Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, also Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Psalm 15, James 1:17-27 Our first reading today is from a book known as both the Song of Solomon and the Song of Songs. It’s one of five books known as the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. The other four
Sunday, August 11, 2024 – Gospel John 6:35, 41-51, also 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:1-8, Ephesians 4:25—5:2 As I’ve mentioned before from this pulpit, I’ve never been married. It seems I share that life situation with the apostle Paul. Although I’ve enjoyed incredibly close friendships and have learned many lessons about how to have good
Sunday, June 9, 2024 – Gospel, John 3:1-17. Also Gen 3:8-15, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1, Mark 3:20-35 One of my first jobs when I moved to Marietta, GA after college was in sales. Our product was halon fire extinguishers, and we learned a very impressive way to demonstrate their effectiveness. We used to pour
Holy Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024 – Gospel, John 3:1-17. Also Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29, Romans 8:12-17 It’s very interesting what you can find online when you search around a little bit. Heaven knows there’s a lot of garbage out there, but sometimes I like to see the kinds of questions people are asking about
Sunday, May 5, 2024 – John 15:9-17 Also Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6 It’s not fun to feel left out. Last week, I began my sermon with a story about feeling like I didn’t quite belong at a conference at a Catholic seminary. Today, I want to share something a little more personal.
Sunday, April 28, 2024 – John 15:1-8 Also Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:25-31, 1 John 4:7-21 Back in the winter of 2010, I drove from the southside of Chicago where I lived in Hyde Park and attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago to the Catholic seminary in Mundelein, IL to present my first biblical
