A Pentecost sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian in Boise, Idaho May 14, 2016 Acts 2:1-21 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 Pentecost is the birth day of the church, the day the Holy Spirit showed up to a room full of followers and breathed God’s own breath on them, as if it were a mighty wind or a…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian in Boise May 8, 2016 1 Cor 15:1-26, 51-58 As Ruth mentioned last week, the church in Corinth had some struggles. Some different ways of interpreting things that were leading to division. Paul called them to love. Paul reminded them that nothing else mattered if they couldn’t remember to…
I’ve been doing some good and hard work in counseling ever since I got my original birth certificate and found my birth family a few years ago. One of my recent discoveries is that I have a Voice in my head that tells me things. The Voice isn’t new. It’s been with me for awhile.…
Graduation season is upon us. We’ll be recognizing graduating seniors in worship on Sunday. I don’t even have a kid graduating this year, and I’m already fretting about how in the world I will be able to pray over these kids without weeping. I have thought back to when Alden graduated. Here’s a post I…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho April 24, 2016 Acts 11:1-18 John 13:31-35 The musician Prince passed away this week at the age of 57. I know there are lots of other people in the world, in our own community, who died that day and who won’t be getting non stop…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho April 17, 2016 Acts 17:1-9 1 Thessalonians 1 Darleen G. gave me a book that I have shared with many of my clergy friends. It is a mildly irreverent paraphrase of the bible by Mark Russell called, “God is Disappointed in You”, and he condenses…
I’ve had a conflicted relationship with Mother’s Day since 1989. Before then, it was the day I made my mom a card and bought her some plants for the garden. It was a good day. Church, lunch, time with family. My family adopted me as an infant, and I grew up thankful for my family,…
Last year, my friend Jemma Allen shared something they had done in worship on Good Friday that involved wrapping a cross. I immediately started planning how we would do it this year and wanted to share it. Included is a general order of worship. Feel free to use, adapt, improve, and share how you use…
Below is a Facebook status of a friend that is important for us all to read. They cannot, at this time, add their own name here but they have given me permission to share their words here. In light of the atrocious anti-LGBTQ bill recently passed in North Carolina, it is important to remember we…
Here is a statement I shared this morning at the Idaho Capitol against Senate Bill 1404. It is the “Idaho Unborn Dignity Act”, which would effectively make it illegal for women to get pregnant in order to have an abortion so they could make money by selling their baby parts for medical research. An important,…
Glass Overflowing 