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
Sunday, April 21, 2024 – John 10:11-18, Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24 Today is the day that the church calls “Good Shepherd Sunday.” It’s a day we recognize every year, and every year the readings include Psalm 23. Many of us can recite this psalm by heart, and maybe even feel an immediate
Sunday, April 14 – Luke 24:36b-48 Also Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, 1 John 3:1-7 I’ve had a few unusual experiences of God, but one of the most unusual was the time the Holy Spirit rode with me in my car down interstate 85 on my way to Pensacola, Florida. Let me explain. This would have
Sunday, March 3, 2024 – John 2:13-22 Also Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 God’s Power on the Mountain On the third new moon after the Israelites had left Egypt, they entered the wilderness of Sinai. And God calls Moses up onto the mountain and tells him the words that he is to speak
I had to say goodbye to my beloved little terrier mix, Bobby, on November 17, 2023. I knew the time was coming near, but foreknowledge is no help when your heart is breaking. I’d had to say goodbye to my beloved lab mix, Cotton, in May of 2021, and that was still a tender wound.
