Brewing Theology With Teer Hardy

One of the most troubling trends in the life of the church is the notion that we are the ones doing the searching. It is as if we have convinced ourselves that God is off in a galaxy far, far away from us. But the truth is that God has always been searching for us. The truth is God has always been searching for you. We may think that we have been doing the searching and have ultimate responsibilit...

“Fitting In or Standing Out: Following Jesus in a World of Expectations” September 1, 2024 Mark 7:1-23 James 1:17-27 Rev. Teer Hardy Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

“When Jesus Offends: Finding Life in Jesus' Hard to Swallow Teachings” August 25, 2024 John 6:60-69 Rev. Teer Hardy Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost We read these verses from an ancient book and give you music you will not find on the radio or social media. Many call it “going to church” or something to check off the to-do list. But I want to call it something else. Let’s call it trying to see. L...

“Something Happened” August 18, 2024 John 6:51-61 Rev. Teer Hardy Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost Jesus brings us something that is beyond our reach; beyond our understanding. He is offering us the very life of God, revealing a God we could not imagine on our own. He comes to us before we seek Him. He comes to us before we project God upon the world. And he comes to us even as we attempt to expl...

“Bread for the World: Embracing the Fullness of Christ” August 11, 2024 John 6:35, 41-51 Rev. Teer Hardy Jesus does not explain himself in terms of who he is not or high theology. Instead, he says I am bread that will sustain you. I am bread that gives you new life. I am bread for the world. Standing before the crowd, standing before use, in the flesh is the fullness of God. If you have ever wonde...

“Satisfied” July 28, 2024 John 6:1-21 Rev. Teer Hardy Tenth Sunday After Pentecost To be satisfied is the goal of pretty much everything we do. In your professional life, if you are not satisfied with your work, you might make a move to a new employer or even a new line of work. If a vendor you are working with is not providing a service that satisfies your organization's needs, you will find a ne...

“The Kingdom of Heaven is Near: Preparing the Way for Christ in a Troubled World” July 14, 2024 Mark 6:14-29 You see, in the face of violence, when confronting the consequences of our sin we return to the words of John the Baptist, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” “Repent, because the messiah has conquered our Sin and Defeated our death.” Christ has conquered the ways we cause ha...

July 7, 2024 Mark 6:1-13 Seventh Sunday After Pentecost The cross and resurrection of Christ are not “mighty” in the eyes of the world. The cross was a public spectacle of shame and defeat. The only way to know the cross as a mighty act is to have seen the resurrection. Yet, no one sees Jesus take his first steps out of the tomb. The resurrection is private, while the cross is public. And here is...

“It Is Everywhere” June 30, 2024 Mark 5:21-43 We find the Good News of the Gospel in the pervasiveness of death. God, Jesus, does not leave us to ourselves to overcome this separation. “We don’t have to wait for Easter for life to intrude and death to be defeated,” writes Rev. Will Willimon. In the face of the crisis of death, Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace,” and...

“God, Do You Care?” June 23, 2024 Mark 4:35-41 Season After Pentecost In Jesus calming the storm the temptation is present to focus on Jesus calming the wind and waves. Cosmic power resides in Mary’s boy who was present when the universe was a formless void. What a sight that must have been. Jesus asleep at the back of the boat, waking and springing into action. The disciples are saved. Here’s the...

“Caps, Gown, and Crowns” June 9, 2024 1 Samuel 8:4-20 To be called and set apart by God is no small feat, and the calling upon each individual and community is specific to the people and community called. The ways you are called by God are different from the ways God had called me. How you have been called by God is different from how God will call your children, partner, or friends. And Get full...

Here You Are” June 2, 2024 1 Samuel 3:1-10 S eason After Pentecost The lynchpin of “Here I am!” is that someone has to first be called. And the thing is, when God calls, we have time to answer. We have time to ask questions of our mentors, like Samuel asked of Eli. We have time to discern why God is calling us and what God is calling us to do. God’s calling upon our lives in one of the ways we exp...

Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was once again set loose on creation, setting the church in motion, filling Peter with words to proclaim, setting us loose, and filling us with the cosmic-breaking power of God not so that we would retreat to the Upper Room. No, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we, like Peter, point to the One who was present when that “wind from God swe...

May 12, 2024 Ascension Sunday Luke 24:44-53 Because Jesus gave the disciples everything they needed to turn their doubts and fears into praise and worship – peace, revelation, assurance, and blessing – we can rest assured that when we are in need, Christ will give us what we need. Recently, I noticed that when someone approached Jesus with doubt, he did not rebuke them. “Doubting Thomas” was not r...

May 5, 2024 Galatians 3:23- 29 It is sinful to say that someone is "incompatible" because of who God made them to be. To those who have been told they and their families are “incompatible,” you have never been incompatible. It is sinful to put barriers in place to prevent or discourage those called by God from responding to their call. It is sinful to cherry-pick scripture to fit an agenda that is...

April 28, 2024 John 21:2-18 Easter 5 The light of the resurrection pulls us out of shame and guilt and invites us into a new life in Christ. Jesus did not repeat his line of question to Peter to shame the Rock upon which the Church would be built but rather to be crystal clear that not only has Peter been absolved of his sin but also that shame and guilt are no longer necessary. In the face of Pet...

Brewing Theology is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Psalm 23 When I saw that the Revised Common Lectionary assigned Psalm 23 this week, I thought, “Challenge accepted!” For many of us, Psalm 23 is reserved for funerals and memorial services. Every funeral and memorial service I have officiated has included Psalm...

April 14, 2024 Romans 12:1-10 Look, I get it; change is difficult. Renewal is even harder. But I am thankful that God has not left me with the faith or theology I had when I was younger. I give thanks every day that God is renewing my faith. God makes me see people in my midst, truly see them in ways that my prejudices would otherwise prevent. Because Christ’s Grace and faith are reckoned to me, m...

April 7, 2024 Genesis 1:26-31 Psalm 139:13-16 Easter 2 The resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for our whole selves – our bodies, minds, and souls. Who we are - every part of our being - is wrapped up in being created in the image of God and is tied up in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. From the beginning of humanity, we have been declared “good” by God. Do we always act “good?”...

March 31, 2024 John 20:1-18 Whatever the reason you came here this morning, our risen Lord is calling you by name, calling you to you in the midst of your grief or doubt. Calling you in the middle of joyous laughter and fun with onlookers says your behavior is inappropriate for the location. Calling you, just as he called the disciples away from their nets, calling you to a new life of following h...

March 24, 2024 John 12:12-29 In our procession of fools, we miss that there is so much more to this story. In each stop between the Mount of Olives (Palm Sunday) and The Skull (the cross), Jesus is gathering all of humanity into him, the very best and the very worst we have to offer. No prayer or ritual must first be spoken or performed on our part. And that is grace. If Jesus calling Lazarus from...

March 17, 2024 John 11:1-44 Jesus is calling each of us to “come out!” Now, I know what you are thinking. If God speaks to you or someone tells you, “God spoke to me,” the temptation to take a step back or to think the person chased their drinks from happy hour with a shot of NightQuil. But (and you know how I feel like big buts), the truth is that God is speaking to us today – in subtle and not s...

February 24, 2024 John 11:7-15 Lent 2 When we lump a group of people in a category like “the Jews,” “the Muslims,” “the Russians,” “the Ukrainians,” “the Americans,” “the Mexicans,” “the Palestinians,” or the “Israelis,” we risk an attempt at reducing the imago dei [ix] – the made in the image of God-ness – of those people into a caricature that fits our prejudices and ignores the rich diversity o...

Lent 1 John 1:1-6 The following sermon is the first in a five-part congregational study of the raising of Lazarus. In addition to the Gospel of John, we will be using James Martin’s book Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle as a guide for our study. Set aside the good and bad of what the world has to say about you and know that You are God’s beloved. Consider for a moment what it me...

Ash Wednesday 2024 Matthew 6 Isaiah 56:1-12 The fancy theological term for Ash Wednesday is “repent.” You will be impressed to know that the Greek word metanoia means to turn away or reorient. Today is when we, as Christ’s body, repent, with the help of spiritual disciplines, God’s grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit to turn away from our sin and back toward God. And it is in repenting that we...