Minding the Gap
From the series “Walls: A Theology in Blood and Brick”
Sermons
Opening Heaven
Isaiah 64:1-12; Matthew 3:13-17; 11:1-6 “Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!” The words of the prophet Isaiah (which we read in our Call to Worship this morning) are a cry that many people can relate to. After all, wouldn’t it be great if …
Fleeing the Wrath to Come
Luke 3:1-18 One of the vivid memories of my childhood growing up in western PA is that of the 1977 Johnstown Flood. On the night of July 19, a major thunderstorm stalled over Cambria County and dumped more than a foot of rain in just 24 hours, causing eight dams along the Conemaugh Valley to …
A People Prepared for the Lord
Luke 1:5-17 Well, here we are at the beginning of Advent. I was thinking this week about when I was a kid and remembering that from Thanksgiving on it seemed as though Christmas would never get here. Now, as an adult and particularly as a preacher, it seems like we just had Christmas last week …
The Nine Essentials: Peace
Romans 5:1-5; 12:9-21 One of the things I noticed going back over the first couple of sermons in this series is that there has been an unintentional and yet consistent quoting of lyrics of songs from the 1970s. Apparently, while I was memorizing Scripture in Sunday School, I was also picking up on a lexicon …
The Nine Essentials: Joy
Philippians 4:4-9 What is it that gives you joy? When I was working with the group to plan my sabbatical this summer, that was the question posed by the Lily Foundation on the grant application. As they put it, “What will make your heart sing?” I thought about a lot of things that give me …
The Triumph of the Cross
Conclusion of the Lent series “The Message of the Cross” Mark 15:16-39 We began today’s Palm Sunday service by reading about the parade that took place in Jerusalem when Jesus came into the city But some historians believe that there were actually two parades that day. There was the procession of the Roman cohort, led …
“Follow Me:” The Cross and the New Covenant
Part 4 of the series “The Message of the Cross” Mark 8:27-9:1 During this series, we’ve been dealing with the question, “Why did Jesus die?” That’s certainly a vital question, but it often causes us to fail to ask an equally important question: “Why did Jesus live?” If we paid attention only to the atonement …
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According to the Scriptures: The Cross and the Covenant
Part 3 of the series “The Message of the Cross” Genesis 15; I Corinthians 15:1-4 “I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in line with the Scriptures; he was buried and raised on the third day in line with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). This …
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The Crux of the Matter: Crucifixion, Sin, and Evil
Part 2 of the series “The Message of the Cross” 2 Corinthians 5:13-6:2; John 8:31-36 What is wrong with people? That’s a question I’ve been hearing a lot these days. Looking at the news, watching people’s behavior, seeing the ways in which humans seem bent on destroying one another and themselves, it’s a question that …
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Why Did Jesus Die? The Scandal of the Cross
Part 1 of the Lenten Series “The Message of the Cross” 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 In 1857, archaeologists working on the Palatine Hill in the city of Rome unearthed a home that once belonged to the Emperor Caligula and, after his death, became a boarding school for imperial page boys. While they were sifting through the …
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Written On Our Hearts – The Gospel and Reform
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Galatians 1:1-12 We have reached the conclusion of our series on Reform, but as with most things related to reformation, the end is really only the beginning. Once we learn the cycle of reform, we begin to look for the new future God wants to bring to his people and we anticipate what …
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Remember Who You Are: Practices That Sustain Reform
2 Kings 23:21-23; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 We have come to the fourth stage of King Josiah’s reform this week, which we read about in 2 Kings 23:21-23. It’s a few short verses but some of the most powerful in the story. In this stage, Josiah re-institutes the Passover festival as an ongoing practice for the …
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Exchanging the Glory: Reclaiming the Image of God
Part 4 of the “Reform” series, in which we look at the third stage of Josiah’s reformation and discuss ideas and worldviews we need to challenge and purge in our own day. Texts: 2 Kings 23:4-20; Romans 1:18-25 In this series we’ve been talking about the fact that every so often in history, the people …
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“These Ruins Are Inhabited” – Returning to the Word
2 Kings 23:1-13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17 One of the things I’m most excited about for my renewal leave this summer is the chance to spend two weeks studying theology at Christ Church College in Oxford—the very same college where John Wesley studied. I’ll be taking courses in the Psalms, the theology of St. Paul, on …
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