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 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, March 8, 2026 – Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42 There is something deeply human about thirst. When we are thirsty enough, everything else fades into the background. The Israelites in our reading from Exodus knew that kind of thirst. They were in the wilderness, far from the familiar world they had
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, August 3, 2025 – Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21 When I got my dog, Cotton, back in the north Georgia mountains, I developed a particular whistle I would use to call him. It was a way for my familiar “voice” to cut through the other noises of the environment, to reach
Sunday, July 13, 2025 – Luke 10:25-37 Have you ever been watching a movie and know just what’s going to happen next – even before it happens? I’ve experienced that when watching a whodunit mystery on television. Sometimes we’re extra observant and notice subtle cues before other people do. That happened to me when I
Sunday, July 6 – Galatians 6:[1-6] 7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 One of my first jobs after college was in sales. I worked for a company that sold Brittannica reading skills programs for young children and sets of the Compton’s Encyclopedia. It wasn’t easy and for my first six months, I couldn’t sell a thing. Someone
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
