The following is a sermon I preached for my class – Principalities, Powers, and Preaching – at Duke Divinity School. A reading from Mark 6:14-29 14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’[c] name had become known. Some were[d] saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work […]
Read more "Do You Not Perceive It?"By now, all of you have heard or read about the Trump Tape. In the wake of Trump’s locker room talk sexual assault, several key figures of the Republican brass have pulled their endorsements (or refused to defend him). However, a few key leaders within the Religious Right have taken a different approach. “We’re all […]
Read more "Sexual Assault & Casting Stones"Gospel Lesson: Luke 21:25-36 Undoubtedly, some of you got ready for worship this morning in homes already decorated for Christmas. You could hardly wait for Thanksgiving to be over so you could bound down to the basement or climb into the attic to pull the decorations from their precarious place on the shelf. For some […]
Read more "Pulling Back the Veil: A Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent"Once again Thanksgiving is upon us. Inevitably, the next few days will be spent traveling, visiting family, and eating (if you’re from the south, lots of eating). However, no matter where you are from, I’d like to suggest that eating may be the most important thing you do this week. When we gather around the […]
Read more "Thanksgiving & The Eucharist"I’ve never used this space for sermons. In fact, its been several months since I’ve used this space at all. So why not use it for a sermon? This is a sermon I delivered for my homiletics class at Duke Divinity. My assigned lectionary texts were: 1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a Psalm 5:1-8 Galatians 2:15-21 Luke […]
Read more "Sermon: The Sins of Ahab"Last night, as I was preparing for my Greek midterm, my friend texted me a link to a Buzzfeed article that had gone viral. By now, you too have seen the photo of #TheDress that can be viewed as either black and blue or white and gold, or some variation thereon. What strikes me as […]
Read more "What Can Religious Theorists & Thinkers Tell us about #TheDress?"LEADER: Lord God, the world trembles out of control. The violence builds, some by terrorists, some by greed, some by intolerance, violence on every side. We believe that you, who hovered over the chaos bringing out of it beauty, life, and order, stand in the midst of out-of-control violence as One who is steadfast, loyal, […]
Read more "Prayers for the People"Time… We are all given this gift — emperors and paupers, kings and children, ancients and moderns. Time… We may have learned how to measure it, but who can master it? Who can make time obey it’s wishes — multiplying it or accelerating it or slowing it down? Time… With its passing, all will […]
Read more "Time"Today was a big day. This morning at Frazer UMC, I witnessed the baptism of three children. Following the service, I was approved by our Charge Conference to go before the District Committee on Ordained Ministry (dCOM) as a candidate for ministry. This was a time for me to reflect upon my own baptismal calling […]
Read more "Baptismal Calling"I have a friend who is currently serving as a missionary in Northern India. I spoke to him recently about his time there — particularly about the experience of spending the holiday season in a foreign land. He told me about a church, there, that had a tradition I had never contemplated before. They had […]
Read more "The Meaning of Christmas"
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