Sermon: The Promise

The PromiseTitus 1:2-3December 11, 2022 In 1974 George Roy Hill was awarded the Oscar for Best Director for The Sting, a film that starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Later that year, Hill received this letter from a 17-year-old aspiring actor: Dear Mr. Hill, Seeing that I am very close, dear, good, and long-lasting friends […]

Sermon: God’s Plan for a Universal Ruler

God’s Plan for a Universal RulerZechariah 6:9-15December 4, 2022 In June 1945, three-year-old Dennis Helms received a letter from his father Richard, who happened to be stationed in Europe, who was working with the OSS in Germany and was writing on V-E Day: Dear Dennis, The man who might have written on this card once […]

Sermon: God’s Plan for Universal Dominion

God’s Plan for Universal DominionZechariah 6:1-8November 27, 2022 In his book Comrades, Stephen Ambrose writes about the horror of war: “Combat requires all the nerves, all the physical attributes, every bit of the training. It is only in combat, nowhere else, where time is measured in other ways than by clocks or calendars. Only […]

Sermon: Give Thanks

Give ThanksPsalm 100November 20, 2022 We live in difficult days (has there ever been a time in the world when we couldn’t say that?). People are trying to define the exact nature of our troubles; one theologian has observed that social observers and politicians and others have called our time, “the age of anxiety, the […]

Sermon: God’s Judgment on Sin

God’s Judgment on SinZechariah 5:1-11November 13, 2022 We live in a sinful world. We are well aware of the sinfulness of the world: There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness. (Prov. 30:12) For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man […]

Sermon: God’s Provision for His Purposes

God’s Provision for Accomplishing His PurposesZechariah 4:1-14November 6, 2022 Goats are social creatures, apparently. They like to do things together. So a couple of years ago, when two goats escaped from their yard in Pennsylvania, it was not surprising that they went on an adventure together. Their escapades took them to the Mahoning River bridge […]

Sermon: Excel Still More in Ministry Labors

Excel Still More: Ministry Labors1 Corinthians 15:48October 30, 2022 Tomorrow is an important day. You know it well. October 31. No, it’s not important because of the opportunity to accumulate large quantities of chocolate in a short time. It’s important because it is Reformation Day. It is the day that we remember Martin Luther nailing […]

Sermon: God’s Plans for Righteousness

God’s Plans for RighteousnessZechariah 3:1 -10October 23, 2022 I’ve told the story before, but because it fits so well with this passage, because Reformation Day is next Monday, and because I like the story, let me remind you of Martin Luther’s conversion story (in his words): I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to […]

Sermon: God’s Plans for the Future

God’s Plans for the FutureZechariah 1:18 – 2:13October 16, 2022 Jeanne Calment was born in 1875 in Arles, France. When she was 13, she met Vincent Van Gogh when he came to her hometown to paint (she didn’t like him). She stopped riding her bicycle in 1975 — at the age of 100. The New […]

Sermon: The God of Comfort

The God of Comfort for a Day of TroubleZechariah 1:7-17October 2, 2022 One writer has said, “Life is full of disappointments. The biggest catastrophes (wars and tsunamis) and the smallest inconveniences (lower back pain and unfulfilled desires) infuse unrest into our lives. Trials snatch peace from us.” [Menikoff, Character Matters.] Meg was the mother of […]

Sermon: The Life of Repentance

The Life of RepentanceZechariah 1:1-6September 25, 2022 Last week we talked about the significance of the book of Zechariah. The book was important to Israel because of its role in calling the nation to complete the rebuilding of the temple after returning from its 70 year exile in Babylon. But it was also important […]

Sermon: God Remembers

God RemembersZechariah — an OverviewSeptember 18, 2022 Several years ago, when the girls were in high school, I attended a conference in Washington D.C. Raye Jeanne and I thought it would be a great opportunity for a family trip, especially since we are a little bit nerdy and like things like historical sites and museums. […]

Sermon: The Good Shepherd

Jesus Christ — the Good ShepherdJohn 10:1-21September 11, 2022 A few years ago I was running some errands one afternoon when I noticed that one tire was almost completely flat. I slowly made my way to a tire store. There was a long line and wait (with mild irritation). Finally, I spoke to an employee: […]

Sermon: Life in Seasons of Lament

Life in Seasons of LamentPsalm 119:153-160August 28, 2022 When we are in crisis, we don’t always think rightly or well. The disciples were no different. On one occasion, Jesus took the disciples on a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee — a body of water with which many of them were very familiar. Seemingly […]

Sermon: Love Still More

Love Still More1 John 4:7-11August 14, 2022 The number/letter combination A113 is seemingly everywhere in animated movies. It’s Andy’s mom’s license plate number in Toy Story; It’s a door number in Monsters University; It’s the courtroom number in Up; It’s the camera model number in Finding Nemo; It’s on a rat’s ear tag in Ratatouille; […]