1.15.12--Sermon on Luke 15:11-32

Two weeks’ ago, Jess and I celebrated our second anniversary. As is usually the case on such memorable occasions, this day led to me spending the majority of my quiet time remembering all of the fun that we had at the ceremony and reception and even on the days leading up to it. I remembered the headache of trying to get everyone to his or her spots during the rehearsal. I admit that it was my groomsmen who were the problem. Someone made a comment that it was like herding cats, and they weren’t far off from the truth. I remembered having breakfast with Jess the morning of, both of us brimming with excitement for what the day would hold. So many memories crowded in my head, and, honestly, not all of them were happy memories.

I remembered the little tug in my heart when I realized that some of my family members had decided not to come to the wedding. I remembered some completely unnecessary tension that had formed between one of my groomsmen and me. And I remember being furious at two of my brothers while driving to the reception. 

12.11--Our Advent (Sermon on Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:14-21)

A week and a half ago, while I was still sleeping, millions of people around the nation were up and preparing for one of the scariest, one of the craziest, and one of the most unsettling events of the year: Black Friday.

Do we have any Black Friday shoppers here? Does anyone go out and brave the cold weather, early morning, and cutthroat competition on the morning after Thanksgiving? I can’t bring myself to do it for a couple reasons. The first is that I value my sleep too much to ever desecrate it by waking up so early. The second is that I spent many a Black Fridays growing up going out with my mom and waiting in the seemingly mile-long lines while she ran around and grabbed any- and everything she could find off of her Christmas list. I’ve earned my shopping stripes. I’m retired.

This year, though, one of my classmates woke up from his turkey nap at 10 pm to try and be one of the first in line at Best Buy. He had his heart set on a new TV for his family, and he was not going to let the deal pass. Unfortunately, he did not get there early enough to be among the first inside the store. He ended up waiting out in the cold in a line that wrapped around the building for almost 4 hours and then spent another hour inside the store. While he waited, he started talking with the people on either side of him. The gentleman ahead of him was there to purchase a new computer for his mom. The one behind him was there for a game system for his kids. As they talked, my friend heard more and more testimonies around him of shoppers who were there for the purpose of buying for others.

They waited, and waited, and waited, just so that they could make someone else happy.

12.4--Great Expectations (Sermon on Luke 1:5-25)

The story goes that Balaam, a priest and sorcerer of much renown, was on his way to thwart the Israelite king and his armies. Having been hired by the enemies of Israel, Balaam set out on his trusted donkey to the Jew’s encampment so that he might curse them and gain for his employers the upper hand. As he was traveling, God sent an angel, armed with a sword, to bar his way.

Now, Balaam, for all his prowess and priestliness, could not see this heavenly being standing so menacingly in front of him. If he had been unimpeded in his traveling, his life would have been cut rather short. Luckily for him, his trusted steed’s eyes were opened to the impending doom, and she stopped in place and would not move a step closer to the armed seraph. Balaam, who was oblivious to the danger, cursed his donkey and beat her. She moves slowly and carefully around the angel, and they continue on their way.

The story is not over, though. God moves his malicious messenger farther down the road. Again, the donkey sees what Balaam cannot. Again, the donkey stops short. And again, Balaam curses and beats her. Not the nicest guy, is he?

A third time God places his angel in Balaam’s path, but this time it is in a narrow gorge. The angel is taking up the entire path, and there’s no way for the Balaam-laden donkey to work herself around the heavenly barrier. When the donkey sees the angel, she stops and will not move, no matter how much Balaam beats her and curses her. Now, Balaam is not a patient man. He, a priest and sorcerer of great renown, is used to kings shriveling before his gaze. No one crosses him, and yet this donkey is getting the upper hand… or hoof… on him. He has had enough, and he is ready to strike this animal down for her incompetence. But as he prepares to kill her, God opens the donkey’s mouth and Balaam’s eyes and ears. She—the donkey—calls him out for being an ignorant jerk, and he, already wide-eyed at his donkey speaking, sees the angel waiting menacingly ahead of them.

He was completely caught off guard by the angel and the donkey.

11.27--Prepare (Mark 1:1-8)

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”

The Broadway musical, Godspell, opens with a colorfully dressed and eccentric looking John the Baptizer belting these seven words into and over the audience. The first time that I saw the play, a young man—with a much better singing voice than myself—just let loose as his words resonated throughout the church, and God used this simple melody fill the sanctuary and send chills up my spine.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” 

11.24--Reasons to Rejoice (Thanksgiving Sermon at an Interfaith Service))

It was January of 1983. They had just finished recording the ninth and what was supposed to be final track for their next album, but it didn’t feel complete. One more song was needed. There was only one problem, though: They were out of time. Their studio time was maxed out, and they were about to be kicked to the streets.

At this point, the lead singer does something kind of crazy: he opens his Bible. A certain passage jumps out at him almost immediately, and with the precious little bit of studio time they have left, they put the Scripture to song. It took ten minutes to write, ten minutes to record, and ten minutes to mix. The album was complete because of this song, and it became an instant fan favorite.

This song, “40”, has closed more than 300 U2 concerts around the world since then.

11.13--A Time Such as This (Sermon on Esther 4)

I spent the summer of 2009 working as a lifeguard at the TLU Maybee Pool. I've got the body for a lifeguard, right? The physique? This was one of those jobs that came with so many perks that I absolutely could not pass it up. The school paid for my lifeguard and CPR certification, it came with free housing, I’d be working with some of my best friends, and my favorite summer hangout spot—the Comal River—was just a short drive away. It was perfect.

Now, in years prior, both my wife, Jess, and one of our good friends, Kelli, had worked here, and as far as I knew, no one had ever had to make any kind of life-and-death save; there had been no major accidents, and even the first aid kit was only brought out once in a blue moon. So we expected to have a pretty laid back summer spent getting a good tan, teaching kids how to swim, and floating the river on our off-time. And, honestly, that is what we got. No one had to put their rescue training to use, and even this big white boy was a few shades darker.

It was a great summer.

Nov. 6--Drawing the Line and Digging Our Heels ( A sermon on Daniel 3)

Brad Paisley, one of my favorite country music singers, has had twenty-nine number one hits in his career. One of the funniest of these, in my humble expert opinion, is his song “I’m Still a Guy,” released in 2007. In it, Brad tells his wife that even though he might have changed in certain ways because of their relationship, he cannot and will not change the core of who he is. He is very clear to his love: “You’re probably thinking that you’re gonna change me and in some ways well maybe you might; scrub me down, dress me up oh but no matter what, remember I’m still a guy.”

In this song, Brad lays out what makes him… well, him. He might open up and pour out his heart to his wife, he might walk her very feminine dog, and he might even be caught carrying her purse for her while she tries on clothes out the mall, but there are things that, in his mind, are non-negotiable. His identity as an individual is rooted in certain things, and even though he cares deeply for his beloved, he cannot compromise all of who he is for her.

On some points, he is unwilling to budge.