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…

Power and Authority

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, California July 21, 2024 Introduction to Worship When I was in 4th grade, our school got a new principal. The previous principal had been revered and loved, as far as I could see. The new guy—not so much. He showed up and started exerting his…

Fallen Idols

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA July 14, 2024 Daniel 3: Introduction to Worship Good morning. Welcome to worship. We are glad you are with us.  I had a different plan for how I was going to open the service today, but then there was another shooting yesterday in our…

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…

Our Whole Truth

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco June 30, 2024 Introduction to Worship  I just returned home from the choir tour Thursday night, and y’all should be very proud of the music your choir made on your behalf in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Michael and John put together a remarkable program.…

How Long, O Lord?

A sermon preached at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA on June 9, 2024 Introduction to Worship Good morning and welcome to worship at Calvary Presbyterian Church. We are glad you have joined us.  As we continue our sermon series on the Book of Psalms, today we’ll look at a song of lament. Lament…

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…