Isaiah 5:1-7 Matthew 21:33-46 A Sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian on October 5, 2014 In the mid 8th century BCE, it was a lousy time to be an Israelite. The kingdom has been divided into Northern and Southern factions. Neither of them is militarily strong enough to defend themselves from the Assyrians. The Assyrians had…
I got in the car Wednesday and the song “Who Are You” by the Who was on the radio. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal. Turns out, that day it was the soundtrack for my existential crisis. I burst into tears. As you may have read earlier (here and here) I have been searching…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Sept 21, 2014 Matthew 20:1-16 Before we look at what this parable might possibly mean for us today, I’d like to take a few minutes first and consider what it tells us about the economic reality of Jesus’ day. There are people standing idle, desperate…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church Sept 14, 2014 Exodus 14:19-31 I’m sure there are many interesting parts of this story, but I confess I had a hard time focusing on anything after this sentence: “The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho September 7, 2014 Matt 18:15-22 The word that is translated as “church” in this passage is the word “ecclesia”, which means “called out of”. It was a term from Greek politics. It was the name of the assembly of citizens who came together to vote…
We just packed up the car and moved our son into his college dorm room. It went better than any of us probably expected. (Translation–I did not weep, wail, or cause a scene at any point, traumatized by my sweet little baby moving out of my daily life and home). Is our house way too…
Our church changed our monthly worship ‘rhythm’ this summer. Once a month, we worship Saturday at 5 pm and then take Sunday as an intentional day of sabbath rest. On the Sunday when we don’t worship, people are invited to be intentional about how they spend their “day off”. It is not another day to…
Still no update on any news from my birth family. (You can read the earlier story about it here.)Not too surprised, I guess. If she hadn’t decided to find me in 45 years, what’s a few weeks? I’ll play the long game on this. And, in general, I’m doing okay with this waiting game. I…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho Aug 24, 2014 Exodus 1:8–2:10 Romans 12:1-8 I wonder if Pharaoh ever had second thoughts about killing the Hebrew peoples’ boy babies instead of their girl babies. Because if you read this story, the men aren’t much of a problem to Pharaoh. They are slaves.…
Washington State opened their sealed records on July 1 and I sent away for my original birth certificate. I received my original birth certificate last week. I now know my birth mother’s name. I wouldn’t have thought just a name on a piece of paper, disconnected from any knowledge about her, would be so powerful.…
Glass Overflowing 