Category: Sermons

Luke 24:1-12 Audio Those who know me know that I love to laugh. I will laugh at just about anything, even the things I probably shouldn’t. I try to find the humor in every situation because I believe, in my heart, that when God spoke the universe into creation the sound, the language, that came from God’s lips… was laughter. So I was overjoyed to discover that Easter fell on April Fool’s day this year. I mean its awesome enough when April first falls on a Sunday but to also have it fall on the highest of Holy Days, on the day we celebrate Jesus turning the tables on death itself, I can hardly contain my excitement. My pathological need to laugh, to find the humor in any given situation, is genetic, I come by it honestly, I get it from my father, who is, without a doubt, one of the greatest pranksters of modern times. As a kid, his first prank was a classic; kids this might be a good place to take some notes. While over at his grandmother’s house he wrapped...

Luke 10:25-37 Listen (Theme from Underdog) Another classic am I right? Who doesn’t love a show written almost entirely in rhyming couplets? Shoeshine boy and Polly Purebred and all those dastardly villains. In this show it is the very humble and self-deprecating nature of the main character that makes it an underdog story. Sure, as Underdog, Shoeshine Boy has massive powers, but those powers often caused lots of collateral damage if only that every episode ended with Underdog not paying attention and flying into a brick wall. Underdog could defeat the villains, but in the process, often he would cause more damage than the villain had. It’s a cute cartoon and something to have a laugh about, but there are real underdogs in life, aren’t there?, with real underdog stories. I am sure you all could think of a time when you were the underdog. When life had landed you right behind the eight ball or stuck you with a 7-10 split. The odds impossibly stacked against you. One of my most memorable underdog moments was in my freshman year of high school. For me, the only sport I...

Galatians 3:23-28 John 15:9-12 Listen “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman! Yes, it's Superman - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman - who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.” How many of you remember that show? The great George Reeves as the man of steel. Rescuing kidnapped aunts, foiling armored car robberies, battling sea monsters and super villains of all sorts. When I was a kid, it was only on in re-runs, but I still remember the thrill of those opening lines. Many of us may remember that thrill and think that it comes from the idea of such a great hero existing, with all of the speed and the strength, and the ability to fly. And there is...