Sermons with Reverend Killjoy

On the spur of the moment, I decided to record this message, because why not? It was a pretty great wedding, so recording some bit of it might be a good idea. Posting it here may be a less-great idea, but isn't that what forgiveness is for? Erin and Chris chose to write their own vows, and they chose two readings: Philippians 4:4-9 and Colossians 3:12-18.

Vigil of Easter Luke 24:1-12 The stories of the Vigil tell us that God is always the same, and is always making things new. In this sermon I also continued my accidental tradition of writing a new hymn text for Holy Week, because why not?

Maundy Thursday John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Love one another. I think these are the most radical words in Scripture, which does not explain why I talked about Facebook so much in this sermon.

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Lectionary Year C Isaiah 43:16-21 On Saint Patrick's Day we were blessed with the opportunity to baptize a family of three, two young adults and a six-month-old baby. It was pretty awesome, and that's the context for this sermon.

Fourth Sunday of Lent, Lectionary Year C. Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 The story known as the Prodigal Son. Such a familiar story to so many, yet there are always new ways to hear it. How can we be the prodigal church? OR In which I attempt to embarrass myself by singing Journey in the course of a sermon. (Mission accomplished!)

Third Sunday of Lent, Lectionary Year C Isaiah 55: 1-9 We read this passage from Isaiah 55 every year at the Vigil of Easter, as one of the great Hebrew Scripture stories of God's mercy and faithfulness through all of human history. Set alongside such rich, popular tales as the creation story, Noah and the flood, crossing the red sea, Ezekiel's dry bones, and Daniel's friends in the fiery furnace,...

Second Sunday of Lent, Lectionary Year C Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 I'll finish this month's preaching the way I began it, by talking about how God is responsible for God's work. This story of God's covenant with Abram/Abraham is one of my favorite in all Scripture. God walks between the animals, in one of the most surprising and grace-filled stories around.

First Sunday of Lent, Lectionary Year C Luke 4:1-13 In the wilderness, Jesus went through what we go through. What does our wilderness time look like? A bit of the devil as Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort, plus this sermon contains a bonus rant against my current #1 pet peeve, the cliched "You come into this world alone, and you go out of this world alone." I can barely begin to tell you how much I...

Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Ash Wednesday doesn't really make sense. We mark our foreheads with ashes, a public sign of repentance, and then we hear Jesus' words in Matthew telling us, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.” What are we doing?

Luke 9:28-36 Transfiguration, Lectionary Year C In Luke's Gospel, Jesus was praying when he was transfigured. Can prayer transfigure us as well?

Jeremiah 1.4-10 4th Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year C God is responsible for God's work. This sermon revolves around two stories I heard from my brilliant wonderful wife, and I believe she told the same two stories in her own sermon on this Sunday. I had also used one of these stories in my February Newsletter article. Lutheran Church of the Savior also held our Annual Congregational Meetin...

Luke 4:14-21 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year C Who are we? What are we about? By reading from the scroll of Isaiah at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus emphatically answered this question. Can we do the same?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year C All our gifts come from God, and all go to God’s purpose.

Luke 2:1-20 Christmas Eve, Lectionary Year C This is the world God loves, and God knows this world needs God's love.

Matthew 2:1-12 Epiphany How will we respond to the gift of love God has given us in Jesus Christ?

Luke 1:39-55 Fourth Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year C God chooses the least-expected people to be his servants. Bonus references to The Hobbit (I still haven't seen the new movie) and The Avengers (Oh, I've seen movie one a few times).

Luke 3:7-18 Third Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year C Two days ago, our nation experienced the tragedy of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. How can our Advent lessons, from John the Baptist to all the rejoicing in Zephaniah and Philippians, speak to the emptiness we feel after this?

Luke 3.1-6 Second Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year C John the Baptist and the politics of forgiveness

Luke 21:25-36 First Sunday of Advent, Lectionary Year C Lots of scary-sounding apocalyptic imagery in today's Gospel lesson. Something, indeed, is coming. Today begins a new church year, in which we'll be hearing primarily from the Gospel of Luke. Listen to this sermon to hear how I suspect that Luke's Gospel was written by Doctor Who.

Revelation 1:4b-8 Christ the King, Lectionary Year B How is the new Sufjan Stevens Christmas album, Silver and Gold, like the book of Revelation? http://music.sufjan.com/album/silver-gold Revelation is full of crazy, challenging, shocking, beautiful images of a powerful, loving God. The truth of Revelation is not the fact of math, as much as I love math, but is the truth of poetry. Revelation offe...

Matthew 6:25-33 Thanksgiving Eve, Lectionary Year B Worry, thankfulness, and the Kingdom of God.

Mark 13:1-8 25th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year B The Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed, which seems like the end of the world to Jesus' disciples.

Coming Out Sunday 2010 This was during the height of the bullying / teen suicide epidemic that spawned the It Gets Better Project and so much more cultural awareness about gay, perceived-as-gay, or just plain different teens. Luke 17:11-18 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C The audio quality may be even worse on this one than usual, as I was using a relatively ancient digital recorder.

Mark 12:38-44 / 1 Kings 17:8-24 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year B Stewardship Commitment Sunday Two poor widows We give because we trust what God will do with our gifts.

Revelation 21:1-6 All Saints Sunday, Lectionary Year B God's Love Is Strong as Death This recording is missing the first minute or so of the sermon, but hopefully you can catch up pretty quickly. As I recall, you probably didn't miss much.