Text: Haggai 1:15b-2:9

I am a sucker for movie musicals. A favorite of mine is Camelot. I can still hear Richard Burton as King Arthur faux-singing: 

A law was made a distant moon ago here:
July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here
In...

Text: Matthew 24:36-44; Romans 13:11-14

Thanksgiving is over. December has arrived and for most people the Christmas countdown is on. As for me, I have been on a quiet countdown to Advent long before the first leaf started to fall.  

It is hard to blame those who ignore...

Text:  Luke 19:1-10

Luke tells us four things about Zacchaeus. First of all, his name; Zacchaeus, is from the Hebrew zakkai, meaning “pure” or “innocent.” Second, his profession was “chief tax collector,” meaning that Zacchaeus was neither pure nor innocent. Third, Zacc...

Text:  Psalm 84

 “Welcome home.” Those two simple words conjure up a rush of images. Many images are from my childhood – images of loved ones now gone, long hours playing games inside on cold, rainy days and even longer hours of playing games outside. 

“Welcome home...

Genesis 32:4-22; 33:1-9

Esau was the first-born son, the child of privilege, a privilege he would never enjoy. For beginning in the birth canal, younger brother Jacob would grab and twist and steal Esau’s privilege, taking everything from his brother’s birthright to Fat...

Text: Luke 17:5-10

I like the Jesus I meet in the Gospels. I like it when I am exhausted and he says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” I like it when I am standing at the bedside of a dying friend and he says, “I am the resurrect...

Luke 16:19-31

Some memories never go away and maybe never should. For twelve years in Atlanta, I navigated fences and gates to get into the downtown church I served. Late each evening, those same fences and gates served as the backdrop for women and men as they would ro...

Text: Luke 16:1-13

You are about to hear a perplexing story. So, make yourself as comfortable as you can on those old wooden pews. Set your bulletin down and close your eyes if you like. Normally, I would never issue such an invitation at the beginning of a sermon, but...

Text:  Luke 15:1-10

What preacher does not love the fifteenth chapter of Luke? What preacher worth her salt cannot soar like an eagle with the rousing, recurring, rhetoric of “lost” and “found” that frames this chapter?  

The problem with parables, though, is that they s...

Text:  Luke 14:1, 7-14

 The story begins with a leader of a major religious party in Judaism inviting Jesus to his dinner table. Just when it is time for the meal to be served, Jesus decides to do some table talk. 

He talks about a table set for a wedding feast. The...