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Micah 6:1-8 In this season of Pentecost we have been inspired to be an expansive church. But we know that "the church" can't be something that the people aren't. So for the last three weeks we have considered how our biases lead us to be exclusive instead of expansive. Addressing our biases is the work of a lifetime. So, as...

Matthew 7:1-5 (But Now I See, part 3) This morning we are wrapping up our three week series on faith and bias, called "But Now I See." The first week we talked a little about what bias is and how it functions in our brains. Biases are reactions we have that are unexamined and uncharitable. Bias is responsible for a...

Matthew 7:1-5 (But Now I See, part 2) This is our second week in a three week series on bias. If we want to fulfill our calling to be an expansive church, then we have to deal with the things that make us exclusive. We all have biases that lead us to think and act in particular ways. Biases are...

Matthew 7: 1-5 (But Now I See, part 1) "My Wife and My Mother-in-law" by W. E. HIll, 1915 So, when I was in college, one night I went to a concert with some friends of mine.  But we went to see a Christian recording artist named Ginny Owens.  Some of you may be familiar with her work.  She’s incredible. ...

Acts 2 and Galatians 3 Pentecost is one of my favorite church holidays. Maybe even my very favorite. Christmas and Easter are great, but they feel cultural as much as spiritual. But nobody except Christians care about Pentecost. Pentecost is when the church is born, when the followers of Jesus become a force to be reckoned with in the world....

Luke 7:36-50 (Unsung Sheroes, part 5) This morning we wrap up our series exploring the stories of Unsung Sheroes in the book of Luke. Stories about women in the Bible are a mixed bag and often times we find what we came looking for, whether that's subjugation or liberation. But the gospel of Luke has more stories about women than...

Luke 10:38-42 (Unsung Sheroes part 4) We are now almost finished with our series exploring the stories of Unsung Sheroes in the book of Luke. Stories about women in the Bible are a mixed bag and often times we find what we came looking for, whether that's subjugation or liberation. But the gospel of Luke has more stories about women...

Luke 18 and 21 (Unsung Sheroes part 3) For the past couple weeks we have been exploring the stories of Unsung Sheroes in the book of Luke. Stories about women in the Bible are a mixed bag and often times we find what we came looking for, whether that's subjugation or liberation. But the gospel of Luke has more stories...

"For Heaven’s Sake! Jesus is breaking all the rules again!" Luke 4:36-39, 8:40-56, 13:10-17 (Unsung Sheroes, part 2) Guest Preacher: Rev. Jon R. Powers Thank you, dear clergy colleague Beth,  for your most gracious invitation to participate in this profound  collection of reflections about Unsung Sheroes who hung out with Jesus.  I am humbled to be in the pulpit from which...

Luke 8:1-3 (Unsung Sheroes: part 1) This morning we are starting a new series that I'm calling "Unsung Sheroes." Although we've already spent three months studying the gospel of Luke, there's a lot that we missed. So before we move on to something else for the summer, we are going to spend a few weeks going back into the book...

Luke 24:13-35 Friends I stand here before you today to proclaim this good news: “Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.” We have all had our moments of the worst thing. The thing we never thought we could recover from. The death. The end of a relationship. The loss of a job we were counting on....

Luke 24:1-12 We come this morning to the moment in the gospel we've all been waiting for. Since January we have been experiencing together the life of Jesus as it's told in the gospel of Luke. There's a lot of value to only studying one gospel at a team. They are unique, with different concerns, different emphases, and different ways...