FCCO Sermons: Take 2

(Sermon preached August 17, 2025) The story of Daniel and the Lion's Den is great fodder for children's books, crafts, and snacks - but in an empire where people are the snacks it is far from a children's story.  Will we throw open the windows and declare our loyalty to God?

(Sermon preached August 3, 2025) Ezekiel 37:1-14 leads us to a valley of dry scattered bones; a valley of desolation and despair.  God asks, "Can these bones live?"   Powerful Song: Dry Bones Illumination from the St. John's Bible

(Sermon preached July 27, 2025) This sermon asks the question, "What are you living for?"  Isaiah 58:1-12 gives us some guidance - if we can hear it.  

(Sermon preached July 20, 2025) Jeremiah is a prophet ready to quit. The job is too hard, too costly, and seemingly futile. But he can't quit, because there is a holy fire burning inside of him.  See Jeremiah 20:7-13. 

(Sermon preached July 6, 2025) Micah 6:1-8 is a courtroom drama.  God is indicting the rich and powerful elite of Jerusalem and Samaria. The people reply, "What's it going to take to appease you?" Micah answers - DO Justice, LOVE Kindness, WALK Humbly with God.

(Sermon preached June 29, 2025) Amos names the sin of economic injustice. God doesn't want our religious performance, God wants a righteousness that results in justice for all.  

(Sermon preached June 15, 2025) This sermon uses Jonah's anger at God's mercy toward the Ninevites to challenge our instinct for vengeance and exclusion, asking whether we can accept a God whose grace extends even to those we most resent.  It invites listeners to engage a spiritual practice of naming their own "Ninevites" and praying to see them through the lens of divine compassion.  (Jonah 3:10-...

(Sermon preached June 1, 2025) Psalm 8 is the outpouring of someone who is wonderstruck. This sermon invites you to a daily practice of being wonderstruck.  It will change your life!

(Sermon preached May 25, 2025) The Book of Hebrews was written to a beleaguered community.  Some were falling away, some were stalling out. After some teaching and scolding, the writer of Hebrews delivers a pep talk, calling for faith and perseverance by naming those who have gone before us and now cheer us on.  Who inspires us? Who may we inspire?

(Sermon preached May 18, 2025)  The Book of Revelation isn't a horror story - it is a hope story. It exposes the evils of empire and invites us to imagine God's alternative.  Revelation 21:1-6 invites us to engage holy imagination as an act of prophetic defiance.

(Sermon preached May 11, 2025) Psalm 23 gives us a powerful portrait of God obscured by Christian nationalism and the heaven/hell framework.  Don't wait for the next funeral you attend to embrace God's radical love.

(Sermon for Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025) For this Easter message I challenged seven other ordained ministers to share the Easter message in one sentence. Together, we delivered the Easter sermon for 2025.  While most people know WHAT happened on Easter, it is quite another thing to say what it means. If you had to do it in one sentence, what would it be?  Why does it matter?

Sermon preached April 13, 2025, Palm Sunday) Jesus' humble entry into Jerusalem wasn't a Disney parade, it was a planned act of nonviolent resistance. He was stirring up "good trouble." (Luke 19:29-44)

(Sermon preached April 6, 2025) Zacchaeus complicates our assumptions (Luke 19:1-10).  Is there such a thing as an honorable chief tax collector? 

(Sermon preached March 30, 2025, Lent 4)  Jesus' parable of the lost sheep is told in response to grumbling by the scribes and Pharisees (Luke 15:1-7). This sermon is intended to disrupt our default understanding of what it means to be lost and broaden it out to those who are excluded, demonized, and unjustly treated (to name a few).

(Sermon preached March 16, 2025) In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus affirms the importance of building a rock-solid foundation in his word.  

(Sermon preached March 9, 2025, Lent 1)  The story of the man left beaten by the side of the road is told in Luke 10:25-37. A lawyer tests Jesus and ends up being the one who is tested.  He wants to know what he must do and Jesus tells him who he must become.

(Sermon preached March 2, 2025) Luke 9:28-36 tells the story of Jesus' transfiguration and is often read the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  It functions like a book end to the resurrection story and encourages us for what lies ahead. 

(Sermon preached February 16, 2025) Luke 7:18-35 is a  long reading included in the narrative lectionary for this year.  John the Baptist is in prison and sends messengers to Jesus to ask him if he is the one.  It is an important question for our time as we strive to understand what it means to be a Christian and follow Jesus today.

(Sermon preached February 9, 2025) Two healing stories (Luke 7:1-17) show Jesus' mercy toward two dramatically different people. The challenge of Jesus, regardless of who is in need, is to show mercy  anyway .

(Sermon preached January 25, 2025) Luke 5:1-11 tells the story of Jesus calling his first disciples.  He tells Simon Peter, "From now on you will be catching people." This sermon invites us to re-imagine our understanding of "catching" in the context of this story. 

(Sermon preached January 19, 2025) The sound quality is not very good - sorry!  My microphone died.  In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus gives his inaugural address. It is an opportunity for us to consider what it means to be a Christian in this time.

(Sermon preached January 12, 2025)  John the Baptist and Jesus had different messages related to their eschatology, but they both agreed that the measure of the fruit we bear is reflected in how well we love our neighbor.  Luke 3:1-22 portrays John as the one who prepares the way for Jesus and Jesus' message and gives us a glimpse of John's preaching and message.

(Sermon preached January 5, 2025) The only story of Jesus as a boy is told in Luke 2:41-52. Jesus is 12, and separated from his parents, who spend three days searching for him. They are frantic, while he is "at home" in the temple.

(Sermon preached December 29, 2024) Luke 2:22-40 tells the story of Simeon and Anna as they encounter Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the temple.  The hope and fears of all theirs years were met in Jesus that day.