The Greater Debt

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA February 23, 2025 Scripture: Luke 7:36-50 Introduction to Worship How is it with your soul? Because the news has been a lot. And it has been designed to overwhelm us and to wear us out so we cannot respond and resist. And despair makes…

Worthy of Healing

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church, February 9, 2025 Scripture: Luke 7:1-17 Introduction to Worship: Good morning and welcome to worship. Today we will hear a story where Jesus heals people and it brings up the perennial question humans ask about who, exactly, is worthy to be healed. In the Book of Genesis, in…

Fishing for People (In a Storm)

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, California January 26, 2025 Luke 5:1-11 Introduction to Worship Good morning and welcome to worship. Today we will be installing our new officers into service for the church. You elected them at a congregational meeting in December and they have been at church all weekend…

What, then, should we do?

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA January 12, 2024 Luke 3:1-22 Introduction to Worship: Good morning and welcome to worship here at Calvary Presbyterian. Today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday, and we’ll hear Luke’s account of when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.  We also remember…

Light After Darkness

An Epiphany sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA Jan 5, 2024 Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-22 Luke 2:41-52 Introduction to Worship Today we are celebrating Epiphany. This is an ancient Christian celebration, dating at least as far back as the 300’s. Epiphany is one of my favorite days in the year of church…

Some Lady Holding a Baby

A Christmas Eve Sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA Dec 24, 2024 Luke 2:1-20 Isaiah 9:2-7 Introduction to worship The winter solstice was a few days ago, and  the days are imperceptibly getting longer. It makes sense that we talk about light during this season of short days and long nights.…

Treasures of Darkness

Introduction to Worship: Good morning and welcome to worship at Calvary Presbyterian Church. This is the second Sunday of Advent, the season in which we wait, watch, and prepare for the coming of Jesus. In today’s passage Isaiah will speak of the treasures of darkness. In the sermon, we’ll look at what he’s talking about,…

Messengers of Peace

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church December 1, 2024 Isaiah 52:1-10 Introduction to Worship Good morning and welcome to the church season of Advent. Advent is the 4 weeks before Christmas, and the start of the church calendar.  Our church calendar year begins with preparation for the birth of Jesus, in whom we see…

A New thing

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA November 17, 2024 Introduction to Worship When people talk about exercising to strengthen their muscles, I think most of them think about lifting weights at the gym, or going for a run—doing that routine, habitual work that builds strength, endurance. If I decided today…