Federated Church Sycamore Sermon Podcast

In this message, Pastor Eric continues exploring the role of faith as it intersects with politics and the work of democracy, especially in these hyper-partisan and polarized times. In our world where it's easy and common to focus all our energy and time on arguing about Donald Trump and the dangers he embodies, this message invites us to consider how what we most focus on in him is a projectio...

In our hyper-partisan and polarized world, in the face of genocide enabled by Democrats and the rise of fascism among Republicans, and as we move through another intense election season where it seems democracy itself might be at stake, Pastor Eric asks: What does Jesus’ call to “love your enemy” mean? What does it mean to love your enemy in this context where “winning at all costs” is the goal an...

In this final message in our summer sermon series, "Ask Me Anything," Pastor Eric responds to people's questions related to faith and politics, our hyper-partisan and polarized political climate, and how people can claim to be Christian/follow God and advocate for violence. Here are the questions people posed: Why have christians done so many horrible things in the name of god? There...

In this “Ask Me Anything” message, Pastor Eric responds to questions about Communion: “How did the early church celebrate communion? Did they? Was wine a common household item back then, or only for the well off? How do we get past the famous paintings and sculptures depicting communion if they don't really reflect what happened?” As Pastor Eric reflects on "Jesus's table practice&quo...

In this "Ask Me Anything" summer sermon series message, Pastor Eric responds to THE question that is often most on people's hearts and minds when it comes to God, faith, and life. Our question asker(s) posed it this way: "Why is there so much suffering if a loving God exists? Why are some people spared (like me) and other good people face horrible things--like their child gets c...

In this third installment of our summer sermon series, "Ask Me Anything," Pastor Eric takes some time to offer briefer, on-the-spot responses to several different questions people submitted, determining which questions to respond to by pulling them out of a hat.

In this second installment of our summer sermon series, “Ask Me Anything,” Pastor Eric responds to the questions people posed about Jesus: “What is the historical evidence that Jesus as a man existed—beyond the Bible? Is there any?” “Is it important to accept the divinity of Jesus? I have problems with accepting this—sometimes questioning it. If not, then what does it mean to be a Christian?” To p...

Pastor Eric began our new summer sermon series, “Ask Me Anything,” by exploring the questions people asked around God. Here’s what they were: “The thing I struggle most about when it comes to religion (other than how it's been used to harm) is God and Jesus as males. Why are all spiritual deities male? I just don't know if I can think of God as gendered at all. And why should HE choose a m...

In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on Jesus' emphatic injunction: " Unless you become like children, you cannot inherit/enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Entering the "Kingdom/Realm of Heaven" is not about going somewhere when we die. It is about our ability to enter into the presence of the Divine Mystery here, to truly be receive and be animated by God's Love now. So,...

In this LGBTQ Pride Service message, Pastor Eric reflects on the desire for healing by drawing on the poem "Jesus at the Gay Bar" by British transgender performance poet Jay Hulme as he interprets the story of the hemorrhaging woman in Mark 5. In this poem, healing takes place, but not where expected. In light of this, we might ask: what if the healing that takes place in Mark 5 is also different...

In this message on Father's Day, Pastor Eric uses the shortest verse in the entire Bible (at least in English): "Jesus Wept" (John 11:35) to reflect on the kind of masculinity Jesus embodied. Looking at Jesus, he then contrasts these with the ways we imagine what it means to "be a man" in our own society, and asks: how does the socialization process from "boys to men&q...

In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the bold and counter cultural community found in the Book of Acts—a community where everyone gave what they had to share with all such that “there was no one in need among them.” Drawing on a quote from the influential theologian, Jurgen Moltmann, that “the opposite of poverty is not property. The opposite of both poverty and property is community,” Pastor...

This message given on Pentecost, known as the “birth of the church” 50 days after Jesus’ death and resurrection, reflects on the famed story of The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 alongside the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 to explore the vision of community, diversity, and belonging they offer us and our world—and how it contrasts with how our world tends to operate. Is it possible that these...

In this message, Pastor Eric explores the overlooked and undervalued images of God in scripture as a mourning woman, mother, and midwife. The foundational understanding of God in the Old Testament--the tradition in which Jesus was raised--was not a philosophical construction as God became after the Enlightenment (with a focus on omnipotence, omniscience, etc.). Rather, as a people who knew immense...

In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on how our habits—things we do regularly and without thinking—shape us and our world, shape our reactions to everything from receiving good news to dealing (or not dealing) with pain and grief. What might happen if we added intentional rituals to our everyday lives? What might this look like and how might it shape us and our world differently? With these quest...

In this message, in the early weeks after Easter, Pastor Eric invites us to reflect on Judas: How is it that scripture remembers him? How much of this negative image may be a projection of the rest of the disciples own shame for having deserted and denied Jesus during his greatest hour of need? Does Judas become a sort of scapegoat? And similarly, how have we done that--projected our own shame ont...

As we continue in the season of Easter, Pastor Eric reflects on one of the primary ways that the earliest followers of Jesus came to understand the resurrection: they were now called to be his living body. As they opened themselves to receiving his life-giving Spirit, they found themselves animated and empowered to love boldly and courageously, just as Jesus had loved (and in spite of their grief,...

In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the mysterious nature of Jesus' resurrection appearances. Drawing on the Apostle Paul's description of the "risen Lord" as a "life-giving Spirit" rather than just a "living being," he explores the resurrection story of Jesus feeding the disciples breakfast in John 21 and three times asking Peter, "Do you love me?&q...

In this Easter message, Pastor Eric helps us differentiate between "fact" and "truth" as we consider what it is that we are invited to believe, encounter, give ourselves to, and proclaim when it comes to Jesus' resurrection. While we don't know all the facts of that first Easter, or the precise "nature" of Jesus' resurrection, we do know that something pow...

In this message*, Pastor Eric invites us to imagine the unfolding events of "Palm Sunday" from the perspective of Jesus's disciple, Peter. The challenge is that Peter and the disciples, while constantly at Jesus' side during his ministry, are nowhere to be found in this moment. But scripture is clear: Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and his actions in the Temple--fli...

Continuing our Lenten journey of figuring out faith with Peter, in this message Pastor Eric reflects on Peter's hunger to learn; his willingness to stay open, keep showing up, and learn--even after last week when Jesus rebuked him quite strongly. What is it that Peter is hungry to learn about in this scripture? Something many of us are hungry to learn about--and struggle with: forgiveness. What ro...

In this message, Pastor Eric continues exploring the scripture story began with last week's message where Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do YOU think that I am? For a moment, Peter and Jesus see, name, and bless one another in a powerful exchange. However, it quickly becomes clear that while Peter gives the "right answer," he has the wrong understanding. His understanding of wha...

In this message, we continue our journey of figuring out faith alongside Simon Peter and his winding, wandering heart. Over the first two weeks for his series, we've reflected on the very human and relatable qualities of Peter. We've seen him question, doubt, give in to fear, and mistake courage for bravado. But this week, for at least a moment, we pause as he alone among the disciples has...

This week, as we continue our Lenten series following the Apostle Peter, Pastor Eric explores how Peter reacts when caught in a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee, and in doing so invites us to consider how we tend to react when faced with forces beyond our control that threaten to "swamp our boat" and "sink" us, and how these reactions--and our understandable desire to contro...

With this message, Pastor Eric launches us into the season of Lent. Introducing us to our theme, "Wandering Heart: Figuring Out Faith with Peter," we are spending the season following Peter's journey. In Peter, we see a person who is both steadfast and unsteady, a dear friend and a betrayer, a follower and a wanderer. In Peter, we are invited to see something of ourselves. By following Peter’s jou...