“I am not the Messiah” That’s probably pretty obvious to all of you. Of course, I’m not the Messiah. But I wasn’t talking about me. These were the words of John the Baptist as he started his ministry. He was out there, talking to people about the coming Kingdom of God, preaching, inviting people to…
Ordinary Time
Never Go Hungry
We are gathered here tonight, as one community of faith, to give thanks. Throughout this month, I’ve been preaching about gratitude and giving thanks and one of the things that we have highlighted is that God wants us to give thanks for the differences among us. It is only by being grateful for someone you…
Practice These Things…
Last week, we broke bread in spite of our differences. We shared at the table of the Lord with people who would vote differently than us and with some who would not or could not vote at all. And we touched [will touch] the waters of baptism and remember our baptism in Christ and that…
From Everywhere to Everywhere
My sermon from the Thanksgiving Ingathering on November 5 This quadrennium, I have the honor of serving on our General Board of Global Ministries: Tell about opening worship – reading the names of the missionaries who have died. Very white, anglo sounding names. But that evening, I met missionaries who reminded me that the focus…
Claiming Our Inheritance
When I came home from our United Methodist General Conference in May, I shared with you these words: Over these last two weeks, we very nearly split our denomination into pieces. Our differences are stark. Our life together is marred by conflict as much as collaboration. And I’m going to be honest… I’m not quite…
Lots to Brag About
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote this letter of encouragement to people who desperately needed some good news, and my prayer for today is that the word of God heard this morning might be encouragement for our troubled souls, too. Let us pray: Holy God, speak into our midst this morning. Fill us with hope, grace,…
Rusty Leftovers
I want to start out this morning with a testimony… This is my experience and I hope and pray that my own story might somehow connect with yours and that the transformation in my own life might point to the way that God might also work in yours. This testimony however is about a topic…
Salt and Light
Last week, I talked briefly about the root of the word, politics… how it refers to the city or the citizen… and how at its core, politics are the relations between people who live in a society. As Christians who live in this society, we have unique sympathies that guide our engagement in this society.…