Transfigured for Compassion

Luke 9:21-45 A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church Feb 26, 2017 Today is Transfiguration Sunday. Each year, before we enter the Season of Lent, we spend some time looking at the texts of Jesus’ transfiguration—when he takes a few of his disciples and goes up on the mountainside. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell…

Welcoming and Listening

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church February 11, 2017 Luke 7:18-35 Our text today picks up immediately at the end of the passage from which Deanna so capably preached last week. It was a healing story, where Jesus healed the slave of a Roman Centurion and then brings back to life the dead son…

Authority

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho January 29 ,2017 Luke 6:1-16 Last week, Jesus was talking to Simon Peter about fishing for people. We considered what that somewhat awkward metaphor might look like today. If you read the rest of chapter 5, it seems that fishing for people involves healing people…

Filled with Rage

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church Jan 14, 2017 Luke 4:14-30 I was sorry to miss a chance to worship with you last week. The sermon you didn’t hear preached is here, and it covered the story of John the Baptist, preaching of repentance and baptism. The sanctuary is decorated still for the celebration…

The Proclaimers

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise. Idaho. Isaiah 61 You may be more familiar with this text because of who quotes it, rather than from its own context in Isaiah. This is the scroll from which Jesus reads when he preaches in his home church in Nazareth. He announces it has been…

Open Hearted Advent

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church December 4, 2016 Advent 2 Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 The Book of Joel is best read in one sitting. I invite you to look through it this week. It’s a lovely story of destruction, fit for people recovering from Thanksgiving holidays with family. Locusts invade and destroy the land.…

In the Year that….

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. November 12, 2016 Isaiah 6:1-8 If you’e been around Presbyterian worship services for a while, this text might seem familiar to you. It’s commonly read on Trinity Sunday. It’s also the framework for how a Presbyterian worship service is structured. We begin with a call…

Ninevite Lives Matter

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho November 6, 2016 Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10; 4:1-11 We humans often have a bad habit of “othering” people. By that, I mean we look at someone’s life that seems very different than our own, and we place them in some category at a remove from our…

Build a House

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church October 23, 2016 2 Samuel 7:1-17 Since our last episode, when Hannah was singing praise to God as she left her toddler Samuel in the temple, a few things have happened. Samuel grew up and became a great priest. “The Lord was with him and let none of…