Let Suffering Speak

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. July 28, 2019 Hebrews 4:14–5:10 One of our church book groups just read Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. We had a good discussion Thursday night about it. And if you haven’t read it, we would all…

Pioneers

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. July 21, 2019 Hebrews 2:10-18 As I mentioned last week, the author of Hebrews is giving us different snapshot images of who Jesus is. Last week, we learned of Jesus as the Son, the exact imprint of God’s being. A perfect reflection.  This week, we…

Seeking the Light

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho June 30, 2019 Psalm 27 This week, I made a brief trip to Detroit for my work on the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI), which is tasked by the General Assembly to engage particular corporations around issues that are important to Presbyterians. We will…

Up To My Neck

A sermon preached at southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Psalm 69:1-16 Save me, O God. Save me, O God, for the water has come up to my neck. (I sang this refrain throughout the sermon, using Marty Haugen’s arrangement of the Psalm. Last week’s psalm was a straightforward hymn of praise. This psalm serves as…

A Place to Dwell

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. June 16, 2019 Psalm 113 We will be spending a few weeks in the psalms. And today’s psalm seems pretty straightforward. It’s a psalm of praise. Praise the Lord! It’s right there in the first sentence. As servants of the Lord, our praise is eternal.…

In All Things

A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church June 8, 2019 Romans 8: 14-39 Acts 2: 1-4 Our passage from Romans tonight is one of my favorite passages in scripture, but it’s not what we usually hear on Pentecost. We also heard the more traditional story from Acts 2, where the Holy Spirit came upon people…

Stop the Bans

Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have recently enacted draconian legislation, intended to remove a woman’s right to make her own best decision about her healthcare choices. These bills seek to make abortion illegal, and in many cases, seek to make abortion a felony, intending to imprison women who choose or need to seek…

Making Mistakes

Who is allowed to make mistakes? Last night’s Game of Thrones episode had a glaring mistake. Someone had left a Starbucks coffee cup on a table in Winterfell.  And some people were incensed about it. I’ll let you find those comments in your own Facebook feeds and online venues. Heads on spikes! Would it be…