“The Offense of Grace”
In this season of Lent, we focus on the cross of Christ. I look through the eyes of faith at Jesus’ arms outstretched and I see the wideness of God's mercy, wide enough to hold in one arm the elder sibling and in the other, the younger. So let me ask you: could you spend eternity in the right arm of God if God's left arm is embracing people you despise? If the grace of God is that wide, do you still want in on it?
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 25:12.
“The Gardener’s Club”
Here’s my question: Do you really believe God is the vineyard owner? What does the vineyard owner say? “For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting soil?” Is that your perception of God? Chomping at the bit to cut down any fig tree folks who don’t produce? Better get busy or else – BUZZZZZZ – you’ll be a stump for eternity. God the barren fig tree chainsaw massacre-er.
View the video of this sermon. Semron begins at 26:05
“The Test”
The Greek word translated tempted can also be translated tested. How do you feel about taking tests? You and I may not like taking tests, whether for fourth grade spelling, high school algebra, or down at the DMV for a driver’s license, but we have to admit that were it not for tests now and then most of us wouldn’t be motivated to study. Tests prompt and measure growth and just as our brains benefit from periodic testing, so do our souls benefit from some testing to spur our growing stronger in our faith. Let’s call this morning’s passage “The Test.” There are three questions.
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 25:22
“Faces Afire”
Years from now, will anyone have a memory of the way we looked after we had been in the presence of God? Just as the moon shines with the reflected light of the sun, do our countenances radiate the light of God?
View the video of this sermon.
Sermon begins at 24:16
“The Bible in Twenty Minutes”
The Bible holds the dubious distinction of being “the least-read bestseller of all time.” I understand why. It was written over many years out of many cultures, each with its own languages. The Bible is not an easy read. So it’s no wonder we pastors receive requests periodically for an introductory, Keep It Simple Stupid overview of the Bible. I’ll give it a go. The Bible in twenty minutes.
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 29:45.
“The Meaning of the Verb ‘Love’”
Note this: the love Paul commends in this chapter to the members of Heart of Corinth Christian Church is something you do, not something you feel. If I understand love as a feeling, then how I treat others will change according to how I feel about them on any given day. If, however, I understand love as Thomas Aquinas defined it as “willing the good of another,” then no matter how I feel about someone, I will strive, God help me, to love them – intend the best for them – no matter what. Biblically speaking, we choose to love ... or not.
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 34:10.
“Jesus in Twenty Minutes”
Say what? You’re going to say everything there is to be said about Jesus in twenty minutes? I don’t think so.
So, I’ll tell you what I did. I called for help. I have a few friends older and wiser than I who have done this kind of thing already. Each of them has tried (and succeeded!) in depicting the significance of Jesus in an economy of words. So, I called each of them, told them my dilemma (Something about Jesus in twenty minutes, please), and asked them for their advice.
Watch the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 27:27.
“Faith and Science”
Faith and science are not mutually exclusive. Adversaries. Irreconcilable worldviews. To the contrary, I’m with Galileo who said, “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use.” He believed that understanding the world through science is a way to understand the mind of its Creator (an act of faith).
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 30:10.
“Inaugural Address”
What does it say about Jesus that of all the Bible verses he could have read for his first sermon, he read from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (61:1, 2). I’m curious: If you had your chance to preach just one sermon, what would you preach about? What scripture would you base your remarks on?
Watch the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 35:42
“The Longest Journey”
Herod is stripped of his title— dethroned by a baby boy! Which ought to assure us that no matter what scars the headlines in 2025, we can hold fast to the belief that in God’s time all of history’s Herods will be dethroned, defanged, defeated. Which is precisely the bold claim made in the hymn “This is My Father’s World.” that goes, “O, let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 28:30
“Losing Jesus”
I want to suggest that for some of us to grow deeper in our faith we may need to “lose Jesus” for a while. Say what, preacher? Lose Jesus! Hold your horses. Hear me out.
View the video of this sermon Sermon begins at 28:50.
"Elizabeth’s House Christian Church"
Thank goodness for the Elizabeths of this world.If Mary’s reason for making haste to leave Nazareth was the judgment that surrounded her there, her reason for making haste to Elizabeth’s house was her belief that welcome, protection, and mercy awaited her there. Her world turned upside down, Mary made haste to the one place she knew she would be safe: Elizabeth’s House. Hear me when I say I hope every church, including Heart of the Rockies, would be an "Elizabeth's House Christian Church" – a place of welcome in a world too quick to shame and judge, a place where runaways from whatever circumstances know they’ll find refuge with grace-filled cousin Elizabeths.
“Season’s Greetings”
Have you ever noticed how the angels in the Christmas story scare the living daylights out of the people they greet? The angel says to Mary, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28) and the Favored One nearly faints… I've come to the conclusion that Mary and company's anxiety is perfectly understandable. After all, it's the case throughout the Bible that whenever God draws near to greet someone it's never just to chit-chat. It's usually to make a request of that person-- and a humdinger at that!
View the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 37:45
“Life in the Key of G –Gratitude”
When I was little, I thought Thanksgiving was for what I had. But now I understand Thanksgiving is for Who has us…
View a video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 37:21
“God’s Trustees”
As I was thinking about a person’s legacy, I got to wondering about churches. Do churches create a legacy? How would a church hope to be remembered? I remember several years ago a book that asked: If your church disappeared from the face of the earth tomorrow, would anyone in the community grieve?
Sermon begins at 34:46
“A-w-e-s-o-m-e Generosity”
our Scripture this morning witnesses to what only can be called awe-inspiring giving. Paul wrote of the stewardship campaign at Heart of Macedonia Christian Church, “They begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing” (2 Cor. 8:4) Now, as someone who has undertaken his share of stewardship campaigns over 42 years of ministry, that beats anything I’ve ever heard of. People begging to make a pledge? Pu-leeeze! Richard Austin. You’re our Financial Secretary. Treasurer Gordon Thayer. Have your cell phones been blowing up in recent weeks due to people begging you for an Estimate of Giving card? I don’t think so.
Watch the video of this sermon. Sermon begins at 27:30
“Vital Signs”
You’d expect vitality from a church that has Heart in the middle of its name. So how do you measure a heart’s vitality? We speak of vital signs – Body temperature. Pulse rate. Respiration rate. Blood pressure. But how do you measure a church’s vitality? Can’t stick a thermometer into Heart of the Rockies. Can’t put a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm and two fingers on your wrist to check your heart. How do you measure a congregation’s vitality? One way is to measure worship attendance, budget, baptisms, new members. But I think those numbers are but fruits of much deeper sources of vitality. If the deeper vital signs are there, all the numbers will take care of themselves.
So, what are those vital signs?
"The Deepest Hunger of the Heart"
Isn’t it true that from birth through our teen years and on into adulthood the deepest hunger of our hearts is to know that we’re beloved, that the favor of someone else rests upon us? Human beings are born hungering for love.
“The Gospel in Miniature”
People bear witness to their faith in many ways, some of them unusual. Take the guy who used to show up at every major sporting event with rainbow-colored hair and a made-for-TV-sized placard that read JOHN 3:16. I used to wonder how he got the tickets he did because he always seemed to be close to the field. At football games, he sat in the end zone behind the goal posts so that when the cameras covered the extra point attempt, his placard would appear in the lower right-hand corner of the screen like a footnote to the score: Chiefs 17 Broncos 14 John 3:16.
“Traveling Music”
From the time God's people left bondage in Egypt through the 40 years of their wilderness wandering and into the Promised Land, music accompanied their every step. Call it ‘traveling music.’ That’s what music does: it goes before us throughout our life’s journey – accompanies us through life’s high points as well as low points to the point that it can be said that music takes us places. Isn't that what our love for the old favorite hymns is all about? No matter what's going on in our lives, if we can just bring to mind a few bars of favorite music, we'll be all right. Just hearing a few notes takes us places.