The Lord’s Prayer begins with a call to apprenticeship… Exodus 4:22-23; Luke 11:1-13 One of the occupational expectations of being a pastor is that you will always be called upon to pray for public events. I’ve prayed at church meetings, Memorial Day ceremonies, building dedications, and even prayed to open the Colorado State Senate. I’ve …
The end of the Book of Acts is a cliffhanger, leaving us wondering, “What happens next?” Acts 28:16-31 Well school has started, and many of our kids are heading back to the classroom. I’ve been talking with some parents who have also just sent their first child off to college, something we’ll be doing next …
The “first importance” of Christian faith is hope in the resurrection of the dead. Acts 23:1-11 We’ve been at this series in the Book of Acts for a whole summer now, and by now I hope you’ve begun to see some common threads about being the church. We’ve talked about the community of the church, …
Testifying to Hope: Resurrection and the Defeat of Death Continue Reading »
Before you can hear the gospel, your idols need to be challenged. Acts 19:23-41 One of the things you might notice as you read through the Book of Acts is that Paul, in his preaching, is always challenging the idols of a particular town or culture. In Acts 14, the people of Lystra think Paul …
The church is messy because the church contains people. How can the church deal with conflict in healthy ways? Acts 15; Galatians 2:1-14 It’s no secret that we live in a contentious, polarized world. Nasty arguments and conflicts permeate our media, and it seems like everyone is quick to voice their opinion about this or …
Constructive Church Conflict: Lessons from Acts 15 Continue Reading »
Acts 11:1-18 Used to be that when you’d get the family together for a long road trip one of the parents (usually Dad, who refused to ask anyone for directions) loaded up the glove box of the family truckster with those fold-out paper maps — you know, the kind that featured an oil company logo …
The enemy of faith isn’t doubt or reason. Sometimes, it’s certainty. Ezekiel 1:15-28 Acts 9:1-9 As a kid growing up in the church we often went to youth rallies and crusades where we heard testimonies of people who had come from horrific circumstances or terrible sins, found Jesus, and turned their lives around. Some …
Blinded by the Light: The Conversion of Saul Continue Reading »
Sharing the Gospel is a simple matter of learning your ABCs Acts 8:26-40 I was called up to annual conference last week, taking a brief break in the midst of the work around the Black Forest Fire, to receive the Harry Denman Evangelism Award. The award is named for the founder of The Foundation for …
Players “in the zone” do some amazing things on the field. A church “in the zone” can do even more. Isaiah 6:1-8, Acts 2:37-47 Well, it’s Memorial Day weekend and I have to say that this is one of my most favorite times of the year. Winter has faded (though this year it did not go …
First installment of our summer sermon series on the Book of Acts Acts 2:1-13 There’s a lot of talk these days about wind power, especially out here in the West where the wide open spaces are increasingly being dotted with wind farms. Of course, those big wind turbines have become pretty controversial. Not only can …
Catching the Wind: Pentecost and Being the Church Continue Reading »
How to have really great sex…from a kingdom perspective 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Song of Solomon 2:8-17 A few years back there was a media report going around about the rock singer Sting who, according to the report, claimed that he was a practitioner of an ancient eastern form of Tantric sex and could “make love for …
Artist Brian Dettmer carves old books. When happens when an old book carves us? Brian Dettmer approaches a book like a surgeon. Now, you might think that’s a metaphor for the way he dissects and exegetes the text but in his case it’s actually quite literal. See, Brian approaches every book with an actual scalpel …
Jesus’ way of dining offers us a different approach to thinking about food. Mark 6:30-44 There’s a lot of talk about food these days, especially about what’s good for you and what isn’t. I found it interesting that the government has decided to change the food pyramid to something simpler (simpler than a pyramid?) and …
Walking is the way to life… Luke 24:13-35 A couple of years ago, the health insurance company for the United Methodist Church started encouraging pastors and families to start wearing pedometers—a device that measures the number of steps you take in a day. The goal is to get people to get out and walk on …
Hail to the King Mark 15:16-39 Friday of the Last Week brings another parade–this one looking very much like that of an emperor. We began this Holy Week by talking about a parade on Palm Sunday. But some historians believe that there were actually two parades that day. There was the procession of the Roman …