Church, In what has felt like the longest year (and counting), COVID-19 has created so many opportunities to feel isolated and alienated from community. We have not been able to be together in the way that we would like to be for DNA groups, Table…
Persevering Together in This New Phase
Church, As vaccine eligibility opens up this week to everyone 16 and older, it seems we are entering a new phase of “Covid-tide.” Having lived very differently for the past year, we are hoping and praying that we are now in the home stretch. Even…
“Guesting” in the Kingdom as Gentiles
Church, God is inviting us to get real about our role in his ongoing work of reconciliation in creation. We are not the center of this story. We are Gentiles – we who were once aliens to the kingdom of faith, but God has invited…
Here Comes the Kingdom!
Church, This past Sunday in the sermon, I briefly commented on the gospel Jesus was proclaiming in our Gospel passage (Mark 1:14-20). We aim to keep our sermons around fifteen minutes at The Table so I didn’t want to spend too much time drawing comparisons…
Where’s the Christmas Joy?
Church, Last week as I prepared, I wrestled with whether or not I was including enough ‘Christmas joy’ in my sermon. Even after preaching it, I felt uncertain and was left pondering. To proclaim that “God is present with you in the mundane and the…
The Exhaustion of Advent in 2020
Church, As I sit here writing to you, I find myself short on energy and somewhat numbed by the lack of daily connections with others. This new monotony has somehow muted my sense of meaning. Each day seems so similar to the last that it…
How to Get What We Need in the Kingdom
Church, Jesus’ teaching on asking, seeking, and knocking is often associated with prayer; however, while this teaching does impact how we should pray, Jesus is actually giving us a new script for belonging and being together. In a world defined by scarcity, we need strategies…
Grappling With Our Privilege
Dear Church, This past Sunday I preached a portion of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus instructs his followers to do their giving, praying, and fasting in secret. As I was preparing, I was struck by how reckoning with my own privilege continues to…
The Presence of Christ to Our Brokenness
Dear Church, This past Sunday was the second week of our series on the Sermon on the Mount: Living the Politics of Jesus in a Partisan America. Our preaching text included the Beatitudes of Jesus, and it was such an honor to proclaim the good…
