Politicians on the campaign trail make a whole lot of promises. They assure voters that if they are elected (or reelected), things will be different—better—for those who vote for them. But those things don’t always happen the way they were promised. Perhaps there are political or logistical roadblocks to doing what they promised to do once in office. Maybe if you’re very cynical, you consider that they never intended to keep those campaign trail promises, and only said what they thought would get them votes.
"Worthy of the Kingdom… and Suffering?" (Sermon on 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10) | November 16, 2025
Anxiety can be a wicked resident in your mind. A book I’m reading right now gave a definition of anxiety and worry that rang pretty true to me: “Worry, at its core, is the repetitious experience of a mind attempting to generate a feeling of security about the future, failing, then trying again and again and again—as if the very effort of worrying might somehow help forestall disaster. The fuel behind worry, in other words, is the internal demand to know, in advance, that things will turn out fine” (Oliver Burkeman. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, p. 116). We want to know that things are going to be fine, and our brains can, sometimes, spin out of control trying to find that certainty.
"Confidence Is a Gift from God" (Sermon on 1 John 5:13-15) | October 19, 2025
What is worse—the car that won’t start or the car you’re not sure if it’ll start or not? I might argue that the one that will not start is the preferable one. You at least know what you’re getting there. You’re not going to make plans to use that car, only to have them dashed by seemingly random failures. You know that you have to do some work on it, or get it towed, or just let it sit till you have the time or money to fix it. You have confidence in that car—in this case, confidence that it will not work—rather than a total lack of certainty. At least with a totally busted car, you won’t get stranded on the side of the freeway miles from home.
"Gratitude Is Powerful" (Sermon on 2 Corinthians 9:10-15) | October 12, 2025
Happy Thanksgiving! That might be rushing it just a little bit (unless you’re in Canada, in which case the holiday is actually tomorrow!), but this morning, as you’ve noticed in our readings and hymns, we’ve been focused on gratitude and giving thanks. So while it might be early for our designated holiday at the end of November, it is a good reminder that we’re not really supposed to relegate gratitude to one day per year, but it should be a continual way of life.
"God Lifts You Up" (Sermon on Hebrews 13:1-6) | September 28, 2025
Have you ever had a coworker who seemed to make everyone around him better, or at least look better, at their job? Have you ever had a friend who always just elevated the group, came up with the best ideas for things to do or brought hightened levity or sincerity to any conversation? Do you have a family member who particularly skilled at navigating and bringing peace to inter-family strife and conflict? They can elevate the entire family dynamic.
"Be Shrewd with God's Gifts" (Sermon on Luke 16:1-13) | September 21, 2025
“Shrewd” is perhaps not a word we use often in everyday conversations, but it is a good word. To be shrewd is to be carefully discerning, able to measure a situation accurately and act appropriately, or at least in the best interest of your primary concerns. We might describe such a trait as being level-headed, able to read a room, discerning, and able to weigh the pros and cons of each individual action in a given situation.
"Found!" (Sermon on Luke 15:1-10) | September 14, 2025
What is your value? Where do you look to understand your value? In school growing up, there was a whole lot of talk for us about self-esteem. You have value! You are special! You are unique and that’s wonderful! Today’s messaging isn’t so different, though usually in the context of social-emotional learning that also tends to include empathy and care for others in a way I don’t remember being emphasized a lot when I was growing up, but I think it’s a change for the good.
"Show Selfless Love, Not Selfish Favortism" (Sermon on James 2:1-13) | August 31, 2025
This world is obsessed with getting ahead. Perhaps you’ve experienced a cut-throat environment at work where someone would throw you under the proverbial bus without a second thought if they figured it would get them the promotion. Maybe you’ve been tempted to or even have participated in that me-first culture at work, school, or even in your home.
"How Does Jesus Divide Us?" (Sermon on Luke 12:49-53) | August 17, 2025
There are seemingly endless ways to divide people. Even if we take our relatively small sample size gathered here this morning, there are plenty of division opportunities, even among us who would seem to have a lot in common. In some ways, you are self-divided today. Are you sitting closer to the front or the back? Are you sitting on the left or right side of the church? And then we can get more granular. We could divide our group by age, by gender, by music preferences, by net worth, by favorite food, by least favorite food, by ethnicity or family heritage—the list goes on and on and on.
"Do Not Be Afraid, Little Flock" (Sermon on Luke 12:22-34) | August 10, 2025
How are you doing? And I know this is clearly a rhetorical question because I’m asking it in the middle of a sermon, not exactly known for its question-and-answer format. But actually, it’s a question I want you to think about and internalize and I would cherish the opportunity to hear your honest answers when we’re done here today. How are you doing? And when I ask that I mean how are you really doing? Not the standard small-talk answers of “Good… good,” or, “You know, I’m fine,” or “Busy…” but what is the real answer?
"Let's Not Chase the Fog" (Sermon on Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, 12-14, 2:18-26) | August 3, 2025
This past week, I was reminded in several ways that we have entered into what is colloquially known around us as “Fogust.” Now, this might not be as true in the East Bay, but certainly in Belmont, we are getting into the time of year when the fog can be thick and prominent (which has sort of been true for this whole weirdly cold summer up here on the hill). But whether it is a reality for us where we live or something we run into as we travel around the Bay Area, we know what it’s like to be under blankets of thick fog from the marine layer. Seeing the sun here before noon is often a novelty during these foggy days.
"Let Us Pray for All" (Sermon on 1 Timothy 2:1-7) | July 27, 2025
It is often a good idea, when having a conversation with someone (especially where there’s some amount of confrontation involved), to avoid sweeping generalizations. Words like “all” or “always” or “every” or “never” can be hyperbolic and completely shut down another person’s ability to listen to what you’re saying. For example, if you’re talking to someone about how they often belittle your ideas and wishes, it is probably not helpful to say, “You never take me seriously,” because that’s probably not true. It might happen often, it might happen even a vast majority of the time, but saying that it’s the only thing that happens can distract from the point. The person you’re talking to may get defensive and be ready with counterexamples, and then you very quickly get away from what you wanted to talk about in the first place.
"Find a Neighbor to Love" (Sermon on Ruth 1:1-19a) | July 13, 2025
We like to find limits, or even loopholes, in the rules. “I know I set a budget for myself, but this sale is too good to pass up.” “Sure, the speed limit says 65, but I know they don’t enforce that until you’re more than 10 over, so it’s no problem if I drive 74.” “Mom only said to go to my room, so setting two feet inside the door and then turning around and coming back out shouldn’t be a problem.” Those “loopholes” won’t do much good for your bank account or your interactions with the police officer. And I don’t think I’ve ever met a parent who likes to discuss the technicalities of outlined discipline with their child.
"How Committed Are We?" (Sermon on 1 Kings 19:19-21) | June 29, 2025
Commitment, dedication, and drive—all of these are concepts that you might hear associated with lifestyle choices. How committed are you to eating right, exercising, and getting to or maintaining a healthy weight? How dedicated are you to growing your knowledge and understanding of core subjects necessary for work or home life, or even expanding into new areas? What is your drive to be the best or do your best in competitions or personal goals?
"Different Messengers Share the Same Message" (Sermon on 2 Timothy 1:3-10) | June 22, 2025
If you ever played the game of telephone, you know how a message can be distorted as it goes through different people. Perhaps your real life was impacted by such an event. News gets passed from one person to another, but that news can get warped because someone mishears, misspeaks, strips away context, or even warps the original meaning to serve their purposes. Thus, it may radically differ from what was initially spoken when it reaches you. This is a good reminder to not engage in or trust in gossip because those things are so easily distorted to the destruction of someone’s reputation!
"The Triune God Bless You" (Sermon on Numbers 6:22-27) | June 15, 2025
How can you be a blessing to other people? There are as many answers to that question as there are people here, multiplied by the people you interact with. For someone, you might lend a listening ear. For someone else, you might give advice. For someone else, you might bring encouragement. For someone else, you might bring some kind of physical support—giving money, providing food, etc. For someone else, your needs might enable their love to bless you, and in that way, you are also a blessing to them, allowing them an outlet for their thanksgiving to God, their Savior.
"Absolute Power for Our Eternal Good" (Sermon on Revelation 1:4-8) | November 24, 2024
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If you are watching a movie or reading a book and a character in the story has or acquires the ultimate power to rule, and they don’t start to use that selfishly, at least a little bit, your suspension of disbelief may flounder. We can’t believe anyone who had control of everything around them—all the wealth, all the political and social power—would be truly generous, selfless, and altruistic, using the power to help others rather than helping themselves. It doesn’t make sense because we know that’s not the way things work in this life.
"One for All Won for All" (Sermon on Hebrews 9:24-28) | November 17, 2024
It can be very difficult to look beyond right now to the future. If things are going well right now, it can be hard to think of a time when maybe they will be more difficult. If life is challenging and complicated right now, it can feel almost impossible to think of a time when things will be going better and easier.
"The Sanctified Heart Trusts God" (Sermon on Mark 12:38-44) | November 10, 2024
Does life ever feel chaotic? A family conflict might do that. An election might do that. A job loss, illness, struggles in school, or falling out with a friend might do that. We have so many things that we count on for stability in our homes, our government, employment and other vocations that any changes (or even threats of change) to those things can cause you to feel like you’re standing on quicksand. It feels uncertain.
