Listen to the sermon here: http://fbcinessex.buzzsprout.com/97164/525178-a-sermon-on-exhaustion-simplicity-and-what-really-matters Acts 2:1-21 This last week or so has been a bit dizzying. Around two weeks ago, I embarked on a journey to the Hudson Valley, where I attended an intense workshop on making a difference and then, from there, I drove down to New York City and took a flight […]
Read More »
Listen to the sermon by clicking here. John 14:15-21 Two weeks, I went to the hospital with Mark and Nina to pray with them and accompany them as Mark prepared for a live liver donation. I woke with anticipation that day at 4:30 a.m. and stayed there almost all day, barely able to leave because […]
Read More »
Listen to the sermon here. 1 Peter 1:3-9 Hallelujah Anyway. That’s the title of a book recently written by Christian author Ann Lamott. In Hallelujah Anyway, Ann Lamott writes about how certain African Christian traditions say that God created human beings because God thought we would like it. This idea stops Ann right in her […]
Read More »
Matthew 21:1-11 Save us. Hosanna means save us. The people clogged the streets shouting this word again and again, “Hosanna. Hosanna.” The people lined the road to Jerusalem, filled with a mixture of fear and hope, hunger and despair. “Was this the Messiah?” they asked one another as they craned their necks and peered between […]
Read More »
John 9:1-41 They had written him off. The community had written the blind guy off. They were so busy judging him that they missed out on befriending and learning from him. Maybe the blind guy has something to teach us about faith, about learning to navigate through the unknown. Yet, in this story, the blind […]
Read More »
John 4:5-42 Trust. Today’s Scripture is about trust. I wonder: Do we really trust God? Do we trust God with all the parts of our lives, the places where we experience anger and frustration, as well as places where we feel gratitude and delight? I was pondering that question this week as I reflected on […]
Read More »
Matthew 4:1-11 What are the temptations in the story today? The obvious temptations are: The evil one encourages Jesus to keep Jesus’ mission small. “Just feed yourself,” the evil one says, “and forget everyone else.” [i] The devil encourages Jesus not to worry about the welfare of others and instead be consumed with his own […]
Read More »
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 How do we pursue excellence – in our lives, in our world, in our churches? I was thinking of that question this week when I read this story of well-known pastor and author Nadia Bolz Weber. Nadia tells the story of a time, after she published her spiritual autobiography, when she began […]
Read More »
Matthew 5:1-12 Desperation. Jesus can see the desperation in the eyes of the crowd, their longing, their bleeding heart, their frantic need for transformation, so Jesus climbs up the mountainside with his group of newbie disciples and begins to teach. The first words that tumble out of Jesus’ mouth are words of blessing, proclaiming these […]
Read More »
Matthew 4:12-23 “Just do the next right thing.” This is what Glennon Doyle Melton tells herself as she sits on the bathroom floor. I have mentioned Glennon previously. Glennon is an author and blogger who tells the story about her addiction to food, alcohol and drugs. One day, in the midst of her struggle, she […]
Read More »
