Christmas Joys

Below is the text of the message I preached this evening at our Christmas Eve service: “Christmas Joys” (Luke 2:25-35). It’s a little late to send a letter to Santa with your gift requests tonight. But people have been sending in requests for a while now. It’s usually just children that send in their wants, […]

Sermon: “O Foolish Men”

“O Foolish Men…” Luke 24:13-35 April 1, 2018 A pastor in California tells the story of a secondhand store in California that resells wardrobes of “the stars” of Hollywood. If you have enough cash, you can buy something worn by your favorite actor and play your own role, pretending to be that star. A number […]

He came with peace

The following is a manuscript of the Christmas Eve message I gave tonight. You may also download a PDF, video, or audio of the message. Perhaps you heard about the massive headline on the front page of the New York Daily News the day after the shootings in San Bernardino, CA. A page-long headline surrounded […]

Sermon: One Grateful Man

“One Grateful Man” Luke 17:11-19 November 22, 2015 It’s one of my (several) favorite Peanuts cartoons: Linus is shown sitting at a table, pencil in hand. In the second panel the paper he was writing on is crumpled with his expected exclamation, “Rats!” In the third panel we see a trash can surrounded by numerous […]

Real joy

How fickle our joy is. If our favorite sports team (or our child’s sports team) wins “the big game,” or even just “a” game, we’re happy. If a T-bone steak shows up on the dinner plate, we’re happy. Brussels sprouts and sauerkraut? Not so happy. If there’s more money than month? Happiness. More month than […]

Prideful or humble

The story Jesus tells in Luke 18 is not just about justification and how one can be justified (v. 14). It’s also about pride and humility; and Jesus’ purpose in telling the story is to expose the pride of the self-righteous Pharisees (v. 9). And that means this is a parable not only for unbelievers, […]