Category Archives: Blog Posts

This week, The Christian Century published my review of Luke Powery’s new preaching book, Becoming Human. How fortunate we are to have Luke teaching future preachers at Duke Divinity School. Here’s my review:

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost It was a joy to be back at Central UMC in Asheville yesterday, as I preached on the Church’s core identity in Christ and God’s work through us as ordinary disciples. This sermon reminds us that salvation with Jesus Christ is a group phenomenon. Central UMC’s worship was beautiful. Enjoy theContinue reading “Being Saved: Together”

As we ponder the wonder of the Trinity, here’s my Trinity Sunday sermon from several years ago. Trinity Sunday invites us to dive deeper into one of the most complex and wonderful of Christian beliefs.  This sermon is from A Sermon for Every Sunday, a series of lectionary-based video sermons designed for use in worship, BibleContinue reading “Encountering the Triune God”

For your celebration of the gift and work of the Holy Spirit among us, here’s my Pentecost sermon from a few decades ago. In a time when my own church, the United Methodist, seems to be having trouble finding room for all those whom the Holy Spirit drags in the door, maybe it’s good toContinue reading “Pentecost”

Here’s a sermon on Psalm 23, an oft-quoted and readily-remembered psalm. For many of us, these words ring in our minds like the words of an old, familiar friend–until they don’t!

It was my joy to be back at Grace Cathedral, Charleston, for their glorious Palm Sunday service. Father Michael Wright and his team lead a vibrant church!

Here’s the second of my two sermons from last week at Cathedral Church of the Advent for their Lenten Preaching Series. The sermon text is Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10. “Whether he descended into hell or whether he descended to the dead, it’s still quite the thing to say about God.”

It was a joy to be back at Cathedral Church of the Advent to be a part of their Lenten Preaching Series. This was the first of two sermons I preached last week in Birmingham. The text is 1 Timothy 1:13-16. “The Church–in its wisdom–gives us forty days to ponder the trust about ourselves, toContinue reading “Forty Days to Ponder This Truth…”

A sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent: learning to wait for God from John 11:1-45.

In Don’t Look Back I urged United Methodists not to become distracted by the machinations of General Conference votes, the Council of Bishops, and other factors that have little to do with the mission of the local church. However, many ask, “How did we get to this point as a church?” Rev. Susan Leonard–a friend,Continue reading “The Future of the UMC: Fact or Fiction?”