Sermon Archives

Advent
December 20, 2020

Christ in the Womb

She’s not who they think she is. And so she stands tall, back straight, arms crossed, defiantly testifying to a different world while facing the armor, weapons, and soldiers of the same state power that killed another black body before her. She has a six-year-old son. She was told to move off the street. She’s […]

December 13, 2020

Joy before the World

On the road to restoration. That’s the theme for this third Sunday of Advent. Almost three years ago, I was driving east on Wilden Avenue. My car:  A 2000 Honda Civic LX. It’s color:  Vintage Plum. According to the owner’s manual, the 2000 Honda Civic LX belonged to the sixth-generation of Civics. It included a […]

December 6, 2020

A Faith That’s Faithful

To start off here, I want to share our memory verse for this month, which is also the focal point of this sermon. It’s Isaiah 40, verse 8.      The grass withers and the flowers fall,      but the word of our God endures forever.” I encourage you to “write this verse on your heart,” […]

November 29, 2020

Readiness in Chaos

Good morning! What an absolute joy to be able to share with you in this way. For Neil and I, being Berkey members who live in Colombia and work with Mennonite Central Committee, the ability to connect for regular worship with you in Goshen has been an unexpected blessing of the pandemic. At the same […]

December 29, 2019

The Other Half of the Story

For the last twenty years, I’ve read the New York Times nearly every day. It’s not my only source of news, but it has been my main source of news. I don’t read the whole paper every day because that would take too long. Instead I generally focus on national and international news, along with […]

December 22, 2019

A Vulnerable God

A Vulnerable God

I once led a retreat for a small group of Christians. I began the retreat by asking them to sit quietly for a moment and identify the main image for God which they carried around in their heads. After a few minutes of silence, each person went around the circle and shared with us their […]

December 8, 2019

You, turn.

You, turn.

So, how are you? I expected that tepid response, so I came prepared to not only ask the question but to provide your answers: I’m fine. Getting along. Busy busy. Doing well. I’m here. Causin’ trouble. Just great. Fair to middlin’. Keeping warm. Couldn’t be better. Can’t complain. Still alive. If there is any other […]

December 1, 2019

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

I can’t get enough of apocalyptic Christianity. I think this may be about the fact that the Bible says that the day and the hour of the end of days is unknown, and yet so many people are so anxious about it they predict it. And while that sort of “end-times” prophecy may seem to […]

December 30, 2018

Augustus vs. Jesus

As followers of Jesus, there is one great sociological fact that we must deal with. It’s this: we live in the world’s richest, most powerful country. It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not. It doesn’t matter whether we’re glad about it or sad about it. It’s a fact of life. The United States […]

December 23, 2018

Tell God I Say Yes

Billy was a kid in the neighborhood who had a rough edge, a rowdy kid who pushed other people’s buttons. He hung out with my younger brothers and was in and out of our home. One day when Billy was 10 years old, my Mom got a call from Billy’s mom, a single parent with […]

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