Have you been to a casual dining or fast food restaurant that has one of those CocaCola Freestyle soda machines? They’re these big machines with a huge touch screen on them, and if you want to drink soda, you have what feels like near-infinite options. But it allows mixing and matching even more than a traditional soda fountain because, in addition to the base sodas, you can add several different syrups flavors to your drink. So, if you’re not content with normal Diet Coke you can, with the press of a button, make it Orange Vanilla Diet Coke. And if you’re feeling brave, perhaps you add a splash of Dr. Pepper.
"Look at What God Is Doing!" (Sermon on Isaiah 43:16-21) | April 6, 2025
“Hey, watch this!” Depending on who is saying those words, you might have different expectations of what you’ll see. If it’s a very young child, it might be some new-and-a-big-deal-to-them type of physical maneuver or something new they learned that aligns with their growth and development. If someone has been studying sleight-of-hand illusions, you might see something that seems impossible at first glance. And if it’s a layman working on the plumbing at the kitchen sink, perhaps you’ll see a great success or a wild failure as the water gets turned on. But in any case, you want to watch and see, either to encourage, be amazed, or know if you need to get the mop.
"What Condemnation?" (Sermon on Romans 8:1-10) | March 30, 2025
You might hear a call for public condemnation in many places. Perhaps some public official does something that is deemed inappropriate, and so calls come from the public for others in office to denounce and condemn his actions. Perhaps a CEO’s misconduct will lead to condemnation from his company’s board. Perhaps a grassroots campaign will urge you to call your representatives in Sacramento or Washington to condemn some bill moving through the legislature. We’re familiar with condemnation, and even public condemnation, of misconduct or ideas that seem potentially dangerous, unwise, or misguided.
"Seek a Lenten Mindset!" (Sermon on Psalm 85) | March 23, 2025
For some tasks, you just have to be in the right headspace, and if you’re not, perhaps you need to try to manufacture it. For instance, if you know you need to work out or do some cleaning around the house, but perhaps you just don’t feel like it, sometimes putting on the right music, podcast, or TV show can flip that switch and get you going. Perhaps you have a project due for school in the coming weeks, but it feels so far away that you find yourself lacking the drive to get any work done on it. But perhaps setting smaller, more immediate deadlines can help light that fire under you to get started.
"Don't Shrink Away from the Moment" (Sermon on Philippians 3:17-4:1) | March 16, 2025
The basketball player gets the ball. Down by one point, a single made shot wins the game. The defense has panicked, leaving him wide open. The final seconds are ticking down. He lines it up and gets ready to take the shot, but he hesitates. His teammates on the bench are screaming for him to shoot, but he doubts himself and shrinks away from the moment. He sees a teammate open and passes the ball to him, but what he didn’t see was the defender behind him. The defender swats away the pass, grabs the ball, and they lose the game. They would have won if he had just taken and made the wide-open shot, but his hesitation means they didn’t even get a chance to try. Game over.
"Jesus Conquers Satan for You" (Sermon on Luke 4:1-13) | March 9, 2025
We all would like someone to stand up for us. If you’re being bullied at school, having a classmate swoop in and tell the bully off is a relief and empowering experience. Similarly, when you're in a meeting at work and receive stern criticism for your presentation, it’s easier to deal with it when others also praise your thoughts and ideas. Holding an unpopular opinion can feel alienating, but having even one other person who agrees with you is a great comfort and encouragement.
"Behold God's Glory!" (Sermon on 2 Corinthians 3:7-18) | March 2, 2025
Things that have been hidden can be quite surprising when they are revealed. The engagement ring that was waiting until just the right moment to appear might take someone by surprise—in a good way. A cancer diagnosis when the person feels otherwise healthy will absoultely take someone by surprise—in a bad way.
While “ignorance is bliss” at times, we often prefer to know things rather than stay in the dark. Some things may need to remain hidden, at least for a while: the surprise party or the bad news that could be completely destructive to someone already going through a tough time. A surprise can be enjoyable when it’s fun, but when it’s something important and concealed, it can be frustrating and harmful.
"Love Your Enemies" (Sermon on Luke 6:27-38) | February 23, 2025
A common theme in political discourse throughout history is leaders (or would-be leaders) identifying a problem that some core part of their constituency has and then finding some group of “others” to blame it on. You see that especially in difficult economic times. Usually, the blame gets put on someone who is different than the core group—maybe a different religion, skin tone, language, or ancestry. More often than not throughout history, those claims and blames have been baseless.
"Is Jesus' Grace Sufficient?" (Sermon on 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) | February 16, 2025
Have you ever felt at the point of being completely overwhelmed, that you just couldn’t take one more issue or you were going to lose it? And “lose it” may have different meanings to different people in different contexts. Maybe you feel like you’re going to scream if one more person tries to put one more thing on your tasklist. Maybe you feel like you’re going to get sick if you have one more piece of anxiety-causing news come across your phone or TV screen. Maybe you feel like you’re going to quit your job or run away from some other responsibilities if things don’t change because you just can’t take one more minute of the way things are going.
"You're Sending Whom...?" (Sermon on Luke 5:1-11) | February 9, 2025
I don’t watch it often, but I love the PBS show Antiques Road Show. If you haven’t seen it, the basic premise is this: people attend an event and bring in old things they have in their homes (perhaps displayed, perhaps stashed away in the attic) to have them appraised. They film many of the appraisals, and the interesting ones tend to be aired on the show. Sometimes they’re interesting because the person is sure they’re sitting on a small fortune, only to discover that what they have isn’t worth much. On the other hand, sometimes people bring something in and it ends up worth 10, 100, or even 1000x what they thought it might be.
"What Does Gospel Success Look Like?" (Sermon on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5) | February 2, 2025
Keep at it. Keep pushing. Fake it ‘til you make it. These sorts of encouragements are often shared with those who are finding the path ahead of them difficult. Maybe they’re trying to set new personal records at the gym, and just can’t seem to break through that plateau. Maybe they’ve started a new job or embarked on a new personal project and it has become clear that they are in over their head or didn’t have as solid a command of the material as they thought they did. What’s the encouragement? Keep at it.
"Rejection Is Not Failure" (Sermon on Acts 4:23-31) | January 26, 2025
When plans fall apart, it might leave you feeling like you failed. But the things that caused (or hastened) the failure were often out of your control. The picnic plans fall apart because of the rain. The project at work gets cut because of budget decisions far above your job description. The car you intended to keep for a decade or more is totaled because someone wasn’t paying attention and ran into you.
"Jesus' Power Brings About Faith" (Sermon on John 2:1-11) | January 19, 2025
If you’ve ever adopted a pet from a group like the Humane Society or an animal rescue, you’re probably familiar with all the hoops you need to jump through to complete the adoption. These groups will not just hand over an animal to you because you walked through the door and had the cash for the adoption fee. They ask for information, if you rent your home they want clearance from the landlord that it’s ok for you to have a pet. They want to know who your vet is to get a clear idea of how you’re caring for any current pets or pets from the past.
"Do You Laugh with the Lord?" (Sermon on Psalm 2:1-7) | January 12, 2025
Have you ever been in a situation so bad, frustrating, or seemingly hopeless that all you could do was laugh? Why is that a gut reaction for us sometimes? I assume it’s a response to things we can’t control, things that are sometimes so out of reach that it almost begins to be funny.
That laughter or “humor” (if we can call it that) is a dark, hopeless laughter. I can’t do anything but laugh. But it’s not expressing the joy that laughter often communicates. It’s certainly not expressing something funny or entertaining. So, there are many reasons someone might laugh at the situation around them, some of them positive but sometimes very negative.
"Do You Consider Yourself Worthy of Eternal Life?" (Sermon on Acts 13:46-49) | January 5, 2025
Have you ever gotten a gift, maybe this Christmas just finished or sometime in the past, that you felt unworthy to receive? Maybe it was something so personal, so dialed in to you, that you knew you could never, ever give such a thoughtful gift, and rather than appreciating the love and care that went into it, you felt only guilt over the generic nature of the gift you had prepared. Maybe there was a gift so costly that you were embarrassed to think that someone gave you a gift of such value. Perhaps it even left you wondering why they did.
"Let Us Tend the Tree of Faith" (Sermon on Luke 13:6-9) | December 29, 2024
I was listening to a year-in-review podcast last week, and one of the hosts of the show made a joke at one point along the lines of, “It’s good to know that once January 1 comes, once the clock ticks over to midnight and it’s 2025, all the world’s problems will disappear.” Truly, January 1, 2025 will not really be different than December 31, or December 29, or…
It’s one of the reasons I have no qualms about observing the New Year transition in worship today rather than two days from now. It’s not really that big of a deal. The opportunities for reflection and forward-thinking are not limited to one 24-hour period. It’s one of the reasons I really don’t like New Year’s Resolutions because, if you’ve identified something you want to do or a change you want to make, why not start it on December 29th or November 17th or whatever rather than waiting for this arbitrary point in the future.
"I Bring You Good News of Great Joy" (Sermon on Luke 2:1-20) | December 24, 2024
“Can we talk?” What does that question do to you? I’ll tell you what it does for me: my heart leaps into my throat and other questions race through my mind, “What’s wrong? What did I do? What happened? Where and how big is the hurt, and for who?” Now, those questions might just point to my own wrestling with anxiety because could it not just as easily be good news as bad? Couldn’t someone want to spend a few minutes sharing something positive rather than negative, encouragement rather than criticism?
"Repentance Produces Joyful Fruit" (Sermon on Luke 3:7-18) | December 15, 2024
When young children are first being introduced to the idea of receiving gifts, what do parents often have to instill in them? Showing their thanks. Now, that doesn’t mean they aren’t thankful or appreciating for a present or other kind gestures, but a parent will help the child learn how to express that to the gift-giver. Are you thankful? Say, “Thank you!” For children (or even some adults), this concept can be a bit of a foreign one, and it’s only with modeling and direction that it starts to become ingrained and automatic (though, hopefully not thoughtless) to thank the person giving you something or who has done something kind for you.
"My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord" (Sermon on Luke 1:39-55) | December 22, 2024
Well, we’ve reached it. The Fourth Sunday in Advent, the last Sunday before Christmas, finally has a Christmas feel to it. It’s still Advent; we’re still firmly in the preparation phase, but with readings focused not on the end, not on John the Baptist’s ministry, but firmly on prophecy of the Savior’s birth and reaction to the upcoming arrival of the Savior. We’re almost there; the preparations are nearly complete.
"The Days Are Coming!" (Sermon on Jeremiah 33:14-16) | December 1, 2024
The days are coming! How many until Christmas? I’m sure you could ask most of the children and they could give you an exact number. The rest of us could probably do the math, but perhaps we don’t want to think about that just yet. There’s so much to do to prepare—planning, decorating, cooking, emotionally centering ourselves. It’s a lot. But unless the Lord returns before December 25, it will be here. That day is, in fact, coming!
