Today we’re going to spend the bulk of the sermon breathing through a guided meditation. We’re going to invite the Holy Spirit in through our inhalations; then, with our exhalations, we will breathe out into the world the values of a life lived following Jesus. But before we get to the meditation part, just a little background.
Continue reading “Breathe in the Holy Spirit”
At one time or another we’ve all edited our bibles. We’ve decided – consciously or unconsciously – that something in the bible doesn’t fit our worldview and so we skip it. Our pre-selected readings on Sunday morning do this pretty often, leaving out verses that make us squeamish. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, went so far as to cut – literally cut – passages out of his bible, mostly Jesus’ miracles, because they didn’t jibe with his deistic thinking. Narrowing down our focus to Jesus’ words alone, there are still plenty of things we’d really rather skip. Today, I’d like to talk about what we do when we find ourselves skipping over some of Jesus’ words.
Continue reading “This Teaching is Difficult”
What does it mean to be alive? The biological definition is fairly simple: to be alive means that the processes which keep our bodies functional are working. Our hearts pump blood, our lungs exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen, our digestive organs turn food into nutrients and waste, and our brains keep all these systems running. In this way, we are alive like amoebas are alive, just at a more complex scale.
Continue reading “Bios and Zoe”
I was worried Tuesday morning when I sat down to write this sermon that I would have forgotten how to do it, since I preached my last one all the way back on April 14th. Thankfully, my shower thoughts saved me as I reflected on the story of David and Absalom. And I realized that God was inviting me today to talk about the danger of binary thinking. So this morning let’s talk about the grace inherent in the fact that two things can be true at the same time.
Continue reading “God’s Divine “And””
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2023, my church was in the midst of an unprecedented number of deaths and funerals in the parish. This sermon was a response to that reality and is now one of the most often viewed posts on this website.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2023: The Funeral Homily”
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2022, the world was hurting in so many ways, so I wrote this musical meditation in response.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2022: Maranatha Meditation”
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2021, nearly a year into the pandemic building closure I wrote this sermon about Noah’s ark.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2021: The Rainbow”
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2020, I preached the following sermon on Easter Sunday, less than a month into the Covid-19 pandemic.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2020: Why Are You Weeping?”
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2019, I wrote notes each week of my first sabbatical, and this is one about my time at the Lynching Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2019: The National Memorial for Peace and Justice”
During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. Every once in a while I sing during a sermon, including during the sermon in 2018.
Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2018: You Are My Child”
Where the Wind... 