Category: Sunday Worship

The Lord said to Moses, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” That reading from Deuteronomy 34:1-12 is terrifying to me. God has…

Some days are easier than others. Some days you think everything is going your way: the weather is beautiful, you just heard good news from a friend, and you are filled with joy and optimism. You accomplish everything you set out to and even find time for a hobby or unplanned phone call to a…

The Gospel is full of stories that are interesting to me. The reading of the Banquet and the guests who come from the street (Matthew 22:1-14) leaves me puzzling over it, year after year, and don’t know what I think of it. You have a king who’s determined to fill his wedding hall with guests,…

In the Gospels Jesus crafts a parable of God’s persistent patience with Israel. The vineyard Jesus references is a metaphor for God’s people. The harvest of the vineyard is a metaphor for the works of righteousness, forgiveness, and kindness that the people of God do in the world – the evidence of their faithfulness to…

The Gospels often present a challenge by God’s people to God’s anointed Son, and therefore to God as well. The challenge to Jesus’ authority seems to be rooted more in fear than in any legitimate concern. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day are threatened by his presence and teaching in the Temple. The want to…

As bright summer sun turns to golden autumnal glow, the Church gets ready to celebrate the abundance of all that God grows. Harvest is traditionally a time of thanksgiving for crops safely gathered in, and the season typically conjures up images of proud pumpkins on display and collections for cans of soup for those who…

There have been moments through the years when I’ve found myself ready to sit down in our study at home to type the sermon for a Sunday morning, when I would be interrupted by my son, who would want to sit on my lap and tell me a story. Pressed for time, I was tempted…

I love living in Maryland. My wife loves living so close to DC for work. It’s sad for us to be so far from our families. Mine are in South Carolina. Amy’s are in Texas. Years and years ago, before Walker and Arthur were born, Amy and I took a road trip to visit them.…

I once heard a story of a teacher in a classroom asking the students to spend three minutes memorizing everything in the room that was red. After three minutes, the teacher asked them to name ten objects in the room that weren’t red but blue. The students were frustrated, as their attention had been fixed…