Preacher of Habit

Sept. 23/24    New Commands, New Covenant Scripture: Exodus and Deuteronomy Today we continue our sermon series called, “The Story,” where we’ve been exploring God’s plan fix our world gone wrong and make it possible for us to be in relationship with him. Last week recounted the story of the Exodus, where God freed his people from Egypt. Today we look at how God doesn’t settle for rescuing us, but longs to reshape us through the giving of commands. I heard an interesting hypothetical question this week. What would happen if communities of faith ceased to exist? The question was posed as conversation piece on “Q,” which is a podcast dedicated to helping people stay curious, and was offered partly as a response to the growing idea that religion doesn’t really impact the larger community. And so a research team was sent to collect data around the area of homelessness, which many people (religious and non-religious) agree is an area we should all be doing something about. An

Sept. 9/10       Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Scripture: Select Readings from Genesis 37 and 42             Today we continue The Story, a 31-week journey where God sets out to redeem a broken creation and makes it possible for us to be in a loving relationship with him. In today’s story, we find ourselves moving from the old man Abraham to a young man named Joseph.             I thought it just a bit strange this week, with the news reporting much on the so-called “Dreamers,” the children of undocumented immigrants, that we find ourselves considering a young teenager whose life was lived mostly in a country not his own. As a 17 year old, Joseph was the second youngest son of his father Jacob, and he was about the age most of us start asking existential questions, questions about being and purpose. It’s obvious from the text that Joseph’s brothers do much of the heavy lifting around the farm, which means that Joseph has plenty of time to sit around and think. I imagine J

We continue a 31 week journey known as "The Story." This series is based off the work of the same name by Randy Frazee and Max Lucado. Some of the stories and anecdotes are taken from their sermon manuscripts. My sermons are loosely based on their outlines, but most of this work is original. Enjoy!  Sept. 2/3                      God Builds a Nation Scripture: Genesis 12: 1-4, Genesis 17: 1-19             Today we continue “The Story,” a 31 week adventure spanning the beginning of creation in Genesis to God’s beautiful work of “making all things new” in Revelation. On this journey, we’re exploring the grand thrust of God’s narrative: creation, fall, redemption and restoration. If you’re just joining us, last week we looked at God’s vision to come down and be with us in a beautiful garden in relationship with us, but the first two humans rejected God’s ways and introduced to us the problem of sin. And ever since, we’ve found ourselves in the same boat, rejecting God