Romans 3: 21-26

I preached in my home church on Sunday, filling in for our pastor in a series on Romans. It’s here, beginning at 21:00.

New Clothes

I got to preach in my home church on Sunday. My text was Galatians 3:26-29, a wonderful jewel-box of declarations about our identity in Christ. Our epidemic of loneliness, isolation and despair is at the heart of our current angry polarization, I think. I spoke about how Galatians’ good news provides us with new clothes–the clothing of Christ–to meet the world.

The service can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gATsSTVoHM, with my sermon starting at 27:53.

Your Birthright

I preached again on Sunday, this time on Genesis 25:19-34. It’s the story of the birth of Jacob and Esau, twins, and the first incident that set them against each other. The tragic outcome is that “Esau despised his birthright.” (v. 34) We are warned not to follow his footsteps.

The video stream can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFauw9PF9QI. The sermon begins at 14:15

Idols All Around

Sunday (7/9/23) I preached at Healdsburg Community Church on Genesis 24. That’s the story of Abraham sending his servant to get a wife for his (40-year-old) son Isaac. The question I focused on is: How do you live a life of faith while you’re surrounded by people who worship other gods? Abraham was very aware of this dilemma, as few other men in Israel’s history were.

A recording of the service is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5RmSakiuRA. The sermon begins at minute 30.

Getting Ready

I preached at The Cove on Sunday, as part of a series called The Gospel According to Ebenezer Scrooge. The idea is to follow the narrative of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol along with the gospel’s Christmas story. My part was to compare John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-17) with the Ghost of Christmas Past. You can listen here. The theme is how to get ready for change, for the light to appear in the darkness.

Preaching on Ephesians 3:1-13

I preached at my home church on Sunday. If you’re interested in hearing/seeing me, you can view the service online at https://www.fpcsantarosa.org/worship-services/2022/10/9/ There are two versions: in the 9:00 service my sermon begins at 29:35; in the 10:30 service it’s at 27:49.

I try to address the divisions, political, racial and economic, that plague us today.

Real Comfort

I preached today on the extremely well known text of Isaiah 40:1-11. I talked about the distinct, political comfort that God offers through the prophet. It’s different from the nostalgic comfort of music, lights, family and food. You can hear it here: https://www.covefellowship.org/go/downloads

Humans in the Image of God

I preached on Genesis 1 on Sunday. Here’s the sound, in case you’d like to listen:

https://www.fpcsantarosa.org/2021/09/humans-in-the-image-of-god/

Choosing a Leader

About six weeks ago I preached the installation sermon for Dan Baumgartner, a long-time friend, at The Cove, a church in Santa Rosa that I know well. The topic is David’s anointing as told in 1 Samuel 16. You can listen to it here. The sermon begins at 3:07.

Rich Toward God

Last week I preached in Healdsburg on the parable of the rich fool. Here’s the link.