Sermons and Reflections

November 24, 2024. Texts: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37. Psychic or psychotic? It’s a legitimate question to ask about Daniel. Are we hearing the disintegration of a mind in terrible distress? Daniel’s visions were set in perilous times, reflecting trials ranging from the Babylonian deportation of Israel, to...

November 17, 2024. Texts: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8. Contrary to both history and popular imagination, Daniel was not a person. Or perhaps we should say, not a particular person. Daniel is the synthesis of an idea, a conviction, a message. Daniel goes a long way back in history....

November 10, 2024. Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 5:24-28; Mark 12:38-44. There was a knock at the door and the young woman opened it to find several men standing there. She did not invite them in, for that would have been unseemly. But they only came to bring word to...

November 3, 2024. Texts: Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44. In previous generations they used to say, travel is broadening. Or, as travel expert Rick Steves says, it’s the best education you’ll ever have. It generally follows that the farther afield you go, the more you’ll learn. And in a...

October 27, 2024. Texts: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36. A book was effectively banned from public access. It happened because religious leaders with strong influence in government thought the book was dangerous. It had been widely available for years and never fell off the list of best sellers because...

October 20, 2024. Texts: Isaiah 53:4-12; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45. A baby girl in Spain was born with Down syndrome. In her five brief years of life she was tenderly cared for and greatly loved. An elderly French man lived with a terrible dental condition that left him toothless and...