FCCO Sermons: Take 2

(Sermon preached October 26, 2025) Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) challenges us not only to be doers of mercy but also to create and build spaces, like the inn in the story, that offer healing and hospitality.  

(Sermon preached October 12, 2025) What if we thought about the mustard seed as an impossible to eradicate invasive species?  How does that change the way we hear, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field?" (Matthew 13:31-32)

(Sermon preached October 5, 2025) Dating back to the first century, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 has been used as the Words of Institution for the Lord's Supper.  The bread and the cup unite us in God's dream for the world, where all are welcome, all are fed, all are loved. At the table we embody God's justice and compassion amid a world divided by power and prejudice.  

(Sermon preached September 27, 2025)  This sermon on Luke 16:19-31 presents Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus as a cautionary tale, not about the afterlife, but the spiritual danger of ignoring suffering at our own gates. It warns that the love of wealth can harden our hearts and deafen us to God's call to love and compassion, and blind us to our shared humanity.

(Sermon preached September 7, 2025) Luke 14:1-14 exposes the games we play to secure things like status and honor.  What we learn from Jesus is that we don't have to play the game. At Jesus' banquet all are welcome, all are equal, and there is enough for all.

(Sermon preached August 31, 2025)  Worry is the misuse of our imagination.  In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus reminds us that we can redirect our imaginations to God and God's kindom.  

(Sermon preached August 24, 2025) In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells us to guard against greed and then goes on to tell a story about someone who let greed get the best of his life.

(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.