Below are links to individual sermons beginning with the most recent. Previous sermons and various messages (eg. Ash Wednesday video meditation) can be found on the Previous Sermon, Series, and Messages page, where they’re listed by series.
Nov 19: The Church Still Matters
25th Sunday after Pentecost: The Church Still Matters Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23 What we often perceive to be the case isn’t always the case. For example, the image to the left is a bird’s eye view of the backyard of the parsonage in Adrian, where we lived for six years. From the picture, the backyard looks to be the typical flat lawn. But in reality, it significantly slopes downwardly toward the rear-left corner of the yard. In fact, the slope is…
Nov. 12: Dead, But Not Dead
24th Sunday After Pentecost: “Dead, But Not Dead” Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 I know I’ve shared with you before that on the occasions Caroline is gone for a couple of days, I tend to put off the cleaning up the kitchen until shortly before she’s due home. While doing this clean up, I’ve sometimes asked myself, What if she comes home early? It’s not as though she’d be upset with me; that’s not the issue. It’s more about how I’d…
Oct 15: Make a Choice
Consecration Sunday: Make a Choice (3/3) Other sermons in this series“Generosity: the Core of Creation” #1: The Story of God’s Generosity #2: Generosity as Discipleship #3: Make a Choice (this sermon) Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Hey, do you remember back in about 7th, 8th grade, in the schoolyard, there would be a conversation that went something like this: Remember those kinds of dialogue? Some of those I wouldn’t even waste a dollar on today because I wouldn’t be able…
Oct 8: Generosity as Discipleship
19th Sunday after Pentecost: Generosity as Discipleship (2/3) Other sermons in this series“Generosity: the Core of Creation” #1: The Story of God’s Generosity #2: Generosity as Discipleship (this sermon) #3: Make a Choice Scripture: Luke 5:15-20 I’d like to begin by acknowledging the fact that you are present in worship today because you don’t need convincing to be generous. My guess is that there are quite a few among us who suspect that the purpose of the annual stewardship…
Oct 1: The Story of God’s Generosity
Other sermons in this series“Generosity: the Core of Creation” #1: The Story of God’s Generosity #2: Generosity as Discipleship #3: Make a Choice 18th Sunday after Pentecost: The Story of God’s Generosity (1/3) Scripture: portions of Genesis 1-4 Intro: The Bible is the story of God’s generosity. From Genesis to Revelation, God put his generous nature on full display. Every book of the Bible, each in its own way—some overt and some more subdued—reveals the generosity of the God…
April 23: What Truly Unites Us
3rd Sunday of Easter: What Truly Unites Us Scripture: Romans 15:1-13 Our congregation is 189 years old. In 1834, a Methodist Episcopal Society was formed in this city with nineteen members. Six years later, in 1840, that church—our church—was incorporated. And four years later, in 1844, our first church building was built (pictured to the left). We quickly outgrew that building, so in 1856 we moved into our second building, which was good for about twenty years. In 1874,…
April 16: Our Holy Protector
2nd Sunday of Easter: Our Holy Protector Scriptures: John 20:19-31; Acts 2:14, 22-32, 37-40; 1 Peter 1:3-9 Growing up, I remember hearing about the time my grandpa was flying across the country, and midway through his first leg of the journey, for reasons we’ll never know, he decided to take a different connecting flight than the one for which he was booked. Imagine his utter shock when later that day he learned that the plane he was originally supposed…
April 9 (Easter): You Will See Him
Easter Sunday: You Will See Him Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10 Today, we join countless Christians around the world to celebrate what is for us a clear and glorious reality: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The stone cave in which Jesus was entombed was as restrictive to his resurrected body as a spring morning fog is to our bodies. Today, we see and believe this wonderful truth. For us, Easter is a high and holy day because…
April 2: It Is Finished
Palm/Passion Sunday: It Is Finished (6/6) Other sermons in this series“The Seven Last Words of Christ” #1: Father, Forgive Them #2: Today You will Be With Me in Paradise #3: My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? #4: Woman, Here Is Your Son #5: It Is Finished Scriptures: Luke 23:44-46; John 19:28-30 Jesus was not a victim. Nothing about the passion of Jesus Christ indicates that his life should have ended any differently than it did. Was…
March 26: I Am Thirsty
5th Sunday of Lent: I Am Thirsty (5/6) Other sermons in this series“The Seven Last Words of Christ” #1: Father, Forgive Them #2: Today You will Be With Me in Paradise #3: My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? #4: Woman, Here Is Your Son #6: It Is Finished Scriptures: Isaiah 55:1-3a; John 19:28-29 My guess is that many of you parents of adult children have an experience similar to my parents, which is that they absolutely…