The Blue Collar Scholar

Happy 4th of July! The premier liberal democracy to arise out of the Enlightenment is now a quarter a millennium old. But this sermon is not a patriotic holiday sermon. Instead, we continue in our sermon series through the epistle of First John. In 1 John 2:18-27, John warns us against those who oppose the Kingdom of God, seeming to coin the term "antichrist" in the process. End Times enthusiasts...

Today I was honored to be invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Parsons (KS). This is the audio of that sermon, where I lay out reasons why some Christians think that they don't have any spiritual gifts, and why they are wrong about that.

The Apostle John tells us to not love the world or the things of the world (see 1 John 2:15). But in John 3:16, we see that God so loved the world. Is this a contradiction? And if not, then we must ask: what does it mean for one to not love the world? In this episode, we see that (1) you either love God, or you love the world, (2) the world draws us into sin, & (3) the world's time is running out.

Happy Father's Day! As we continue in our expository series through the book of First John, we come to the beginning verses of chapter 2. In this passage we learn a few things: (1) Our goal should be sinlessness, (2) Jesus fixes it (because we will never achieve sinlessness) and He defends us when we fail, (3) we should love one another, (4) our love should be extraordinary, (5) hatred & lovelessn...

Joyous Juneteenth to fans of liberty & justice for all! I opened worship this weekend with a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. As a history dude (with an actual Bachelor's degree in the subject), I am ashamed to say that I was unaware of Juneteenth until the late 2010s. But I've come to view it as an essential part of "Freedom Fortnight." In a brief 2 week window, Americans can celebrate Flag Da...

There is a tug-of-war between the extremes of hedonism & legalism, with neither side being the righteous choice. Instead, the Apostle John teaches us to "walk in the light, as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7), emulating Jesus rather than chasing an extreme. In today's sermon, we see that the Apostle John teaches us that (1) the Gospel starts with the glory & perfection of God, (2) our aim should b...

The Summer 2026 sermon series kicks off (well, besides the introductory sermon last week) where any expository series should start: chapter 1, verse 1. The book of 1st John opens with a poetic, slightly rambling soliloquy about the "Logos," the Greek word for "word" (which is also the key word at the beginning of John's Gospel). In this lesson, we see that (1) the Word is life, (2) the Word is Chr...

This summer's sermon series is an expository preaching series through the Epistle of First John. This is the introduction, which lays out several overall themes of the book. Join us this summer as we dig into First John.

Memorial Day seems like a nice bookend for this Easter sermon series; beginning and ending on a holiday. In this episode we summarize all that we've discussed the past 2 months regarding the topic of joy.

Congratulations to all our graduates! Life is going to get a lot more rewarding and more difficult. New beginnings fill us with fear because of the fear of the unknown. But there is joy in new beginnings as well, because there is opportunity there. And this is not just a message for young people. As long as you draw break, there are new experiences in store for you: opportunities to find joy, serv...

For the second time, The Blue Collar Scholar completes a course on the Second World War. The first attempt was choppy, and I failed to record every episode. This go round, I feel much more confident that this series is a good, surface-level-yet-deep-dive into the bloodiest conflict in human history. ... In this last episode of the WWII class, we talk about the sequel to World War II. Thankfully, t...

This Spring, we've been going over the religions of the world. This Comparing World Religions class comes to a conclusion with this short lecture. In this episode, I make some concluding remarks, including going over what we should have learned from this class, but also what I hope that we have NOT learned from studying world religions.

Happy Mother's Day! All of people, our mothers are the people in our lives that deserve the most gratitude. But this sermon is not just about the gratitude we should have for the mothers in our lives. Each of us should cultivate and attitude of gratitude that permeates all aspects of our lives, and shines through in good times and in bad. Thankful people are healthier, happier, and more joyful, an...

My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in the US Army in April 1945, so fighting in Europe was never in the cards for Sgt. Reitz. Instead, he trained for the invasion of Japan. His ship was on the way to the Pacific Theatre when the news of Japan's surrender was announced. So instead...

Atheists claim that atheism is not a religion. Rather, it is a lack of religion. I see no reason to not allow atheists to define their religious beliefs thusly. However, since atheism answers all the same questions that religions answers, it would be a gaping hole in this sermon series if atheism is left out. So this episode delves into the definition of atheism, related terms (like agnosticism),...

Happiness is a good thing. If something makes you happy, then that is probably evidence that that thing is good. However, if the need to be happy (or, if the need to avoid unhappiness) is the driving force in all your decision-making, then the emotion of happiness is the Lord of your life. It isn't the President, or your boss, or the Lord Jesus Christ. Emotion itself becomes your king. We must not...

The Second World War changed human history is ways that are hardly even measurable. It changed everything. In this episode, we will look at the Nuremburg Trials and the Japanese War Crimes Trials, economic and political shifts, the move toward international cooperation and justice, the rise of 2 superpowers, decolonization, and the legacy of the war.

This episode reviews polytheism and pantheism, then gives a overall analysis of various kinds of pagan religions. For instance: African traditional religions, Native American tribal faiths, the traditional religions of Oceania, pre-Christian ancient paganism in Europe and the Middle East, neopaganism (both eclectic and reconstructionist neopaganism), and finally New Age religions, such as Wicca an...

The promise of Heaven is a source of immense joy for the Christian. It is unfortunate that so many powerful Christians throughout history have used the promise of Heaven as a weapon against the oppressed, promising them that the afterlife will be where they finally find their joy, while the powerful continue to oppress them in this life. That is a deplorable use of Scripture. The promise of Heaven...

World War II came to a radically-unpredictable conclusion when Japan was bombed - twice - by the most powerful individual weapons ever used on human beings. The scientific knowledge necessary to accomplish the creation of the atomic bomb was only made possible a few short years before this when non-Nazi Germany scientists discovered nuclear fission in 1938. Determined to unlock the power of the at...

This episode gives brief (repeat: brief) overviews of Sikhism, Jainism, Shinto, Taoism, Chinese traditional religions (including Confucianism), the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1964), the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), Zoroastrianism, and the Baháʼí Faith.

For the person who has been redeemed by Jesus, the answer to "Who Am I?" has changed. For the one who is in Christ, the answer to "Who Am I?" is that I am redeemed, I am a friend of Jesus, I am chosen & adopted by God, I am a child of God, I am used by God, I have a future of resurrection & royalty, and I am destined for Heaven!

As the Second World War approached the final year, Allied victory became inevitable. But that did not mean that the war was over. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan fought fiercely, making the Allies earn every island, every mile, every air strip, every bridge, etc. Yet, by the end of Spring 1945, the war in Europe came to an end with a smashing Allied victory. The war against Japan r...

Buddhism is the major world religion that branched out of Hinduism in a way very similar to how Christianity branched out of Judaism. It is a fascinating religious system, technically non-theistic but deeply spiritual. This episode attempts to provide a broad overview of one of the world's most popular religions, popular mostly in East, Southeast, & Central Asia.

The Easter Sermon Series continues as we "Celebrate with Joy!" However, there are things in life that kill our joy: depression, despair, and apathy can drain joy. I contend that pride and false humility can be some of the biggest joykillers there are. In this sermon I will explain what pride and false humility are, and why they can kill our joy.