A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church for the third Sunday of Advent. Dec 16, 2018 Matthew 1:18-25 Have you ever looked at the families in Christmas advertisements and commercials? They are all beautiful. They wear outfits that are coordinating, but not too matchy matchy. They are uniformly happy and joyful. They are gathered together around…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Advent 2, Dec 8, 2018 Isaiah 42:1-9 Our passage tonight is from a section in the book of Isaiah that speaks of God’s suffering servant. Other servant passages are in chapters 49, 50, 52, and 53, if you want to look at them this week.…
A sermon preached on a snowy first Sunday of Advent at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Dec 2, 2018 Habakkuk 1: 1-7, 2:1-4, 3:17-19 I’m gonna bet that for many of you, this is the first sermon you’ve heard on the book of Habakkuk. It is certainly the first sermon I’ve ever preached on…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho November 4, 2018 2 Kings 5:1-19 I love this story. It is full of conflict and juxtaposition and surprise agents. People who have—kings and commanders—are contrasted with people who have nothing—foreign slave girls and servants. People who are in the faith—like the king of Israel—are…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho October 28, 2018 Reformation Sunday 1 Kings 3 I had another sermon written for today. And then yesterday happened. This sermon is not as nuanced as I would like it to be, but I am grateful for the ability to gather together, with people I…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho October 13, 2018 Joshua 24:1-27 Last week, Moses was leading the people of God through the parted Red Sea so they could be liberated out of slavery and into freedom. They wandered in the wilderness before they made it to the Promised Land. As our…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Sept 23, 2018 Genesis 39:1-23 Last week, Julie preached a great sermon about Abraham. It’s such an important reminder for us to remember our past as we seek to navigate our future. Who were we then? Who are we today? How far back do we…
Content warning–this post is about sexual assault and rape. I am fortunate. While not all of my dates in my youth were great, all of my dates were safe, consensual, and respectful. When I told boys to stop, they did. Even if a few of them spent time trying to convince me to change…
……I got all my sisters with me. That’s about all the lyrics I know from the Sister Sledge song, but they are enough. This weekend I flew to Seattle, stayed with my sister, visited another sister, and met a new sister. I have one more sister yet to meet, and one other sister I have…
This summer at our All Church Retreat, we baptized a young man who happens to be transgender. He was able to claim the name he wanted to claim when he was baptized because he had not been baptized as an infant, with another name. Two other members of the church were also there at the…
Glass Overflowing 