The first sermon in a series looking at Jesus “death march” to Jerusalem, as He confronts rejection, ignorance and half-hearted followers, and warns potential disciples to expect the same if they join in His journey. https://archive.org/details/Luke9.51ff-the-cost-of-discipleship Follow the link above to listen online or download mp3 or m3u format.
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Matthew 2: Herod’s Resolutions & God’s
In January I got to preach at Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New Orleans looking at Herod’s murder of the infants and toddlers of Bethlehem, and what it’s inclusion in the story of Christ’s redemptive work means for us.
Luke 13:18-21: “What is the Kingdom like? A quantitative and qualitative analysis”
On Sunday I preached for our sister church, Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfield again as part of their sermon series on the parables of Luke. I preached on Luke 13:18-21 where Jesus, challenged by the religious leaders, responded by pointing out that their expectation of what the Kingdom of God would be like was too small....
Luke 10:1-21: Jesus’ Authority and Ours
On Sunday I preached for our sister church, Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfield again as part of their sermon series on the parables of Luke. I preached on Luke 10, about Jesus authority and our authority as authority is a major theme in Luke’s parables. Jesus both claims, and bestows enormous authority in this passage. We...
A Morning in Maine
Our family have long been Robert McCloskey fans, but I made a new discovery today. We have Blueberries for Sal and Time of Wonder, but had not had the chance to read One Morning in Maine until we got it from the library last night. I read it to the kids before bed, and noticed that the heroine's name is the same as in Blueberries--so while Mommy was at a brunch this morning I suggested to the kids that while the babies were napping we spend the morning in Maine, reading Blueberries for Sal, then One Morning in Maine to see her as a toddler and then as a "big girl," then read Time of Wonder just to keep in the vein. When we finished Blueberries, however I read the biographical sketch of McCloskey at the end and realized his books are autobiographical!
Luke 3.21-4.13: Who is Jesus? What can he do?
On Sunday I preached for our sister church, Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfield as part of their sermon series on the parables of Luke. I preached on Luke 3 as an overview of the book, looking at what Luke is saying about Jesus: In this passage the Father identifies Jesus as the Son of God, the...
Ephesians 1:22-2:22: Being the Total Christ
I got to preach for our sister church, Grace Church Stamford in May. I preached on Ephesians 2, laying out some of the principles of what God calls the Church to be as Jesus’ actual presence on earth.
Marriage and community in Brooklyn
When Abby and I watched Brooklyn (a really great film, by the way), maybe because I had preached on marriage the previous Sunday, it made me think about the importance of the community in a marriage: we make vows before witnesses because our feelings are remarkably fickle as a means of keeping us true to...
Isaiah 66: God’s Resolutions and How He’ll Keep Them
I got to preach for our sister church, Grace Pres. in the Hamptons on Long Island at the end of December. I preached on Isaiah 66 and, thinking about New Year’s resolutions, how we often want simple rules to follow so we can feel like we’ve taken care of things ourselves; so we can feel...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the coming Kingdom of God
I found the text of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech today to read to the kids – I hadn’t realized that Isaiah 40’s picture of the fruition of the Kingdom of God is directly quoted. I’ve quoted the “I have a dream” portion of the text below, but wanted to make a...