A Sermon Preached on Martin Luther King weekend at Laurel Presbyterian Church “When Jesus Makes Us Uncomfortable” from John 2:13-25 I can remember the first-time church going to church troubled me. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, 2002. I was set to graduate college in a few short weeks. I was open to visiting a …
Jesus
Lessons from Jesus, Age 12
Excerpts from a sermon preached at Broadneck Baptist Church, Annapolis, MD from Luke 2:41-52 I don’t know if you’ve participated in the social media craze called, #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) when folks post pictures of themselves from years ago on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Though some simply post pictures from last Christmas or a fun …
When We Hit the Hard Place #Charleston
A Sermon Preached at Broadneck Baptist Church, Annapolis, MD from Mark 4: 35-41 This is how our gospel lesson opens: Jesus speaks. It’s an abrupt beginning (as most movement in Mark’s gospel is) where Jesus gives a vague description of what’s up ahead. And this is what Jesus says to his followers: “Let’s go across to …
Talk to Me!
A Sermon Preached at The Federated Church, Weatherford, OK on Luke 24:13-33 There’s a country song by Miranda Lambert that I became familiar with several years ago. I loved when it first came on the radio because it reminded me so much of the small town in Georgia where Kevin grew up and we were …
We are Murderers
A sermon preached The Federated Church: Palm Sunday texts Genesis 4: 8-16 The title is a little shocking isn’t it? But hang with me for a minute and you’ll see where we are going. Throughout Lent I’ve preached on lessons from the first family. We’ve journeyed with Adam and Eve has they came into being …
What Does it Take to Say Yes?
A Sermon preached at The Federated Church, Weatherford, OK Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Mark 1:14-20 For someone in a long-term relationship and desiring to get married—especially for us women—most of dream about that day someone special asks us the big question. “Will you marry me?” I have a friend who knew her day was coming and …
Am I an evangelical? Depends on what you mean by that . . .
There are a lot of people with big ideas about growing church these days. They write best selling books. They teach at sold out conferences. We look to them for all the answers, thinking that Jesus gives their ideas two thumbs up. For example, I regularly get emails from a pastor friend at large mega …
Am I an evangelical? Depends on what you mean by that . . .Read More
Confessions of a Former Evangelical
When I was growing up in the Southern Baptist Church, I learned the Christian life was about these things: Praying a lot. Reading our Bibles every morning. Coming to church as often as we could. And of course tithing 10% of your income back to the offering plate. I don’t think my faith is could …
God’s Kind of Table
I’ve heard it said countless times that everything you need to know about workplace or a school comes when you see who sits with whom at what lunch table. And it’s true. When you think about it, whom we dine with or choose not to dine with—is often one of the biggest indicators of our …
The Healing Power of Gratitude
Luke 17:11-19 Sermon Preached at Watonga Indian Baptist Mission, Watonga, OK There are two words that are never going out of style in the English language. And they are_____. (Thank you). We all love to be appreciated. We all love to have our good deeds noticed. We all love to know that our good works …
The Jesus Year Is Over
For many of you who follow me online you might know that I made a big deal out of my birthday last year. I was turning 33. I called it my Jesus year for I’d reached the age in which Jesus was when he died. Big accomplishment for my geeky religious soul. Right? My sister …
Rule Breaking
We all grow up with rules. Rules like: Don’t color outside the lines. Don’t hit your neighbor even when they bug you on the playground. Don’t leave the house without telling someone where you are going. There are some of us who grow up liking such boundaries. They are like a blueprint that lead us …