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…

Bread for my Neighbor

A sermon preached at Crown Court Church in London August 11, 2024 Exodus 16:1-18 John 6:35, 41-51 Introduction to Worship Today we continue in John’s Gospel, and Jesus is still talking about bread.  I’m okay with that because I talk about bread a lot too. I had to give up gluten for a while when…

Speaking the Truth

A sermon preached at the Crown Court Church of Scotland in London, England August 4, 2024 Introduction to worship I haven’t paid as close attention to the Olympics as I wish I could have, but watching the women’s gymnastics competition, I was thinking about the 2021 olympics, when Simone Biles, one of the greatest gymnasts…

A Dream, Interpreted

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, California July 7, 2024 Introduction to Worship Today we are beginning a sermon series through the Book of Daniel. It tells the story of some noble-born boys from Israel who become spoils of war and are taken from Jerusalem to Babylon and trained to be…

Programmed to Praise

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church June 2, 2024 Introduction to Worship The Westminster Shorter Catechism, one of our foundational documents in our Book of Confessions, asks this question:  Q: What is the chief end of humanity? A: Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Today we’ll be talking about…

Participating in Resurrection

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA May 12, 2024 Introduction to Worship Good morning. Thank you for joining us this morning for worship, both in person and online.  Today is Mother’s Day. And for everyone who celebrates today, we celebrate with you. And for everyone for whom this day is…

Fixing Our Attention

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church April 7, 2024 Acts 3:1-16 Introduction to Worship: This morning we are beginning a sermon series on what it is to be Resurrection People.  One on level, resurrection does not make sense to us. The people we know die, and we do not see them again this side…

Peace on God’s Mountain

Introduction to Worship: Good morning and welcome to worship at Calvary Presbyterian Church. We are glad that you are here. We’re continuing our Lenten sermon series Planting Peace and Sowing Shalom. Working for peace can seem like a tall order.  And so as we think about how to live authentic and peaceable lives in what…