Sunday, February 1, 2026 – Micah 6:1-8, Psalm 15, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12 Our first reading today is a well-known section from the Book of Micah. Who was Micah? He was a minor prophet in the 8th-century BC from Judea, known for defending the poor against corrupt leaders and warning of God’s judgment on […]
Sunday, January 18, 2026 – Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 40:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42 Years ago, I found myself on a journey that changed the way I think about faith and community. In my church in Marietta, Georgia, I joined a small group study based on the book The Edge of Adventure: An Experiment in
Sunday, June 29, 2025 – 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21, Psalm 16, Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62 Though there is a lot of rich material in all of our readings, today, I’d like to explore the idea of freedom. What does freedom mean to you? In the gospel of John, Jesus says If you abide in
Sunday, January 19, 2025 – Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 36:5-10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11 If you were watching television in the U.S. between 1966 and 1973, I could probably say a certain phrase and hum a certain tune and you’d know exactly what I was referring to. “Good morning, Mr. Phelps” and [then I hummed
Sunday, October 20 2024 – Mark 10:35-45, also Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16, and Hebrews 5:1-10. The theme of our readings today is the suffering servant who gives up his own life for the sake of the whole. I have to admit, for good or for ill, I’ve never had to live my life in the
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, July 21 2024 – Gospel, Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, also Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23, Ephesians 2:11-22 What draws people to Jesus? That’s the key question I want us to think about today. Now when I was last with you, two weeks ago, remember that Jesus had just gone back to his hometown where he experienced
Sunday, July 7 – Gospel, Mark 5:21-43. Also Ezekiel 2:1-5, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13 How do you handle rejection? I must admit that I don’t handle it well. I’ve felt rejected so many times over the years that whenever I feel like it might happen again, I just want to curl up
Sunday, June 16, 2024 – Gospel, Mark 4:26-34. Also 1 Samuel 15:34—16:13, Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17 In my last year of high school, our class did a senior play and performed “Ten Little Indians” (also known as \”And Then There Were Known\”) by Agatha Christie. You may remember the story. In
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
