FPC Dallas

What does it mean to have joy that does not depend on circumstances? This sermon explores a kind of joy that exists before proof, one that holds even in uncertainty and struggle. Drawing from 1 Peter, it invites us to consider how resurrection reshapes not just what we believe, but how we endure. Part of the Eccentrics: Keeping It Real After Easter series.

Easter begins in the dark, with people carrying spices toward a sealed tomb. The women in Mark’s Gospel are not certain, not hopeful, and not prepared for what they will find. They are simply walking. Along the way, they ask a question they cannot answer: who will roll away the stone? It hangs in the air, unresolved. And still, they keep going. This sermon explores the kind of faith that does not...

Easter begins in the dark, with people carrying spices toward a sealed tomb. The women in Mark’s Gospel are not certain, not hopeful, and not prepared for what they will find. They are simply walking. Along the way, they ask a question they cannot answer: who will roll away the stone? It hangs in the air, unresolved. And still, they keep going. This sermon explores the kind of faith that does not...

Good Friday confronts us with a different kind of violence. Not only the machinery of empire, but the quieter, more familiar force of anonymity. In Mark’s Gospel, the cross is surrounded by a crowd described only as “they.” No names. No responsibility. Just a chorus of passing voices. This sermon explores what happens when suffering becomes spectacle. When humiliation is carried out not by a singl...

Good Friday confronts us with a different kind of violence. Not only the machinery of empire, but the quieter, more familiar force of anonymity. In Mark’s Gospel, the cross is surrounded by a crowd described only as “they.” No names. No responsibility. Just a chorus of passing voices. This sermon explores what happens when suffering becomes spectacle. When humiliation is carried out not by a singl...

The journey through gravity and grace comes to its final movement here. After gravity, affliction, attention, de-creation, and obedience, we arrive at what has been present all along: grace. Grace is not something we achieve at the end of the journey. It is what meets us in every stage, even when we are unfinished, uncertain, or resistant. It is not a reward for getting it right, but a reality tha...

The journey through gravity and grace comes to its final movement here. After gravity, affliction, attention, de-creation, and obedience, we arrive at what has been present all along: grace. Grace is not something we achieve at the end of the journey. It is what meets us in every stage, even when we are unfinished, uncertain, or resistant. It is not a reward for getting it right, but a reality tha...

After de-creation, something new must take shape. This sermon turns to obedience not as rule-following, but as a lived response to grace. In the Gravity and Grace series, obedience emerges after the self has been loosened from control and illusion. It is not forced compliance, but a form of listening that becomes action. A way of living that reflects trust rather than certainty. Obedience asks us...

After de-creation, something new must take shape. This sermon turns to obedience not as rule-following, but as a lived response to grace. In the Gravity and Grace series, obedience emerges after the self has been loosened from control and illusion. It is not forced compliance, but a form of listening that becomes action. A way of living that reflects trust rather than certainty. Obedience asks us...

After naming gravity, affliction, and attention, this sermon explores what happens when the self begins to loosen its grip on the world it has constructed. Drawing on Simone Weil’s theology, de-creation is not destruction for its own sake, it is the undoing of illusion, control, and self-centered narratives that keep us from reality. We spend much of our lives building a world that makes sense to...

After naming gravity, affliction, and attention, this sermon explores what happens when the self begins to loosen its grip on the world it has constructed. Drawing on Simone Weil’s theology, de-creation is not destruction for its own sake, it is the undoing of illusion, control, and self-centered narratives that keep us from reality. We spend much of our lives building a world that makes sense to...

After descending through gravity and affliction, the journey toward grace begins with attention. Drawing on Simone Weil’s insight that attention is the rarest form of generosity, this sermon explores how easily we replace true listening with explanation, advice, or quick solutions. In Mark’s Gospel, when the crowd tries to silence Bartimaeus, Jesus does something different—he stands still and asks...

After descending through gravity and affliction, the journey toward grace begins with attention. Drawing on Simone Weil’s insight that attention is the rarest form of generosity, this sermon explores how easily we replace true listening with explanation, advice, or quick solutions. In Mark’s Gospel, when the crowd tries to silence Bartimaeus, Jesus does something different—he stands still and asks...

Not all suffering is the same. In this sermon from Mark 5, we explore the difference between pain and affliction. Pain scars the surface. Affliction burns underground, severing the roots that connect us to community, voice, and belonging. As part of the Gravity & Grace series, this message reflects on the woman who hemorrhaged for twelve years and the synagogue leader, Jairus. One comes from the f...

Not all suffering is the same. In this sermon from Mark 5, we explore the difference between pain and affliction. Pain scars the surface. Affliction burns underground, severing the roots that connect us to community, voice, and belonging. As part of the Gravity & Grace series, this message reflects on the woman who hemorrhaged for twelve years and the synagogue leader, Jairus. One comes from the f...

In Scripture, the sea is never neutral. It represents chaos, fear, and the forces that pull everything downward. In Mark 5, Jesus crosses the water to meet a man living among the tombs, bound by affliction and abandoned to gravity. This opening sermon in the Gravity & Grace series explores what Simone Weil called the “natural movement of the soul”: fear descends, water always falls, and we often p...

In Scripture, the sea is never neutral. It represents chaos, fear, and the forces that pull everything downward. In Mark 5, Jesus crosses the water to meet a man living among the tombs, bound by affliction and abandoned to gravity. This opening sermon in the Gravity & Grace series explores what Simone Weil called the “natural movement of the soul”: fear descends, water always falls, and we often p...

Ash Wednesday begins with a descent. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is named “Beloved” at his baptism and immediately driven into the wilderness. This sermon explores what that movement means, not as punishment or “tough love,” but as a return to dust, to humanity, and to grace. In a culture that avoids limitation and fears weakness, this message invites us to see the wilderness differently: not as break...

Ash Wednesday begins with a descent. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is named “Beloved” at his baptism and immediately driven into the wilderness. This sermon explores what that movement means, not as punishment or “tough love,” but as a return to dust, to humanity, and to grace. In a culture that avoids limitation and fears weakness, this message invites us to see the wilderness differently: not as break...

What if friendship is less about being understood and more about the willingness to truly know another person? This sermon reflects on Christian friendship as a practice of attention, one that honors full humanity rather than convenience or similarity. Drawing from Philippians 2:19–22, the message explores Paul’s description of Timothy as a model of friendship shaped by humility, curiosity, and sh...

What if friendship is less about being understood and more about the willingness to truly know another person? This sermon reflects on Christian friendship as a practice of attention, one that honors full humanity rather than convenience or similarity. Drawing from Philippians 2:19–22, the message explores Paul’s description of Timothy as a model of friendship shaped by humility, curiosity, and sh...

What if friendship is less about being understood and more about the willingness to truly know another person? This sermon reflects on Christian friendship as a practice of attention—one that honors full humanity rather than convenience or similarity. Drawing from Philippians 2:19–22, the message explores Paul’s description of Timothy as a model of friendship shaped by humility, curiosity, and sha...

What if friendship is less about being understood and more about the willingness to truly know another person? This sermon reflects on Christian friendship as a practice of attention—one that honors full humanity rather than convenience or similarity. Drawing from Philippians 2:19–22, the message explores Paul’s description of Timothy as a model of friendship shaped by humility, curiosity, and sha...

What makes a voice trustworthy—and why can confidence alone be misleading? This sermon explores “righteous speech” as more than tone or delivery, arguing that truthful words are formed through the disciplined work of discernment. Drawing from Paul’s prayer in Philippians, this message connects the physiology of speech with the spiritual practice of separating what is true from what is merely accep...

What makes a voice trustworthy—and why can confidence alone be misleading? This sermon explores “righteous speech” as more than tone or delivery, arguing that truthful words are formed through the disciplined work of discernment. Drawing from Paul’s prayer in Philippians, this message connects the physiology of speech with the spiritual practice of separating what is true from what is merely accep...