In this sermon we start a new series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from the book of Daniel alongside of some words from John Cassian. We talk about the kingdom of God (see Mary’s song in Luke 1, Jesus’ Luke 4 sermon, and everything we do to Jesus in Matthew 25), a book by Maurice Sendak called Where the Wild Things Are, Nebuchadnezzar’s wilderness experience and the time he turned into a beast, and what it all has to do with the carpenters rule (hint: this is the kingdom of God). May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we start a new series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from Luke's gospel alongside of some words from Evagrius Ponticus. We talk about what it means to pray, to pray without distraction, what distractions such as violence, prejudice, bigotry, racism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, and nationalism. God is trying to shake out of us, futility, discouragement, trust, and a song from David Benjamin Blower called “The World is a Reed Flute.” May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we start a new series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from Matthew’s gospel alongside of some words from Isaiah the Solitary. We focus on what it means to guard what we let in and what we let out. We talk about the connection between the inner and outer life, the time I got agitated by a large work vehicle outside my house, a scene from a Narnia story, and the idea that over time spiritual things accumulate. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we conclude our series on resilience and hope. We begin by reviewing what we have talked about so far. We then talk about images of hope through the Shajarat-al-Hayat (Tree of Life inBahrain), walking palm trees, and a flower growing out of the concrete. Next we consider Peter’s words about what it means to have a living hope as we suffer various trials. From there the sermon shifts to speak of the kinds of people Peter was writing to, strangers and aliens in Roman society who found a home in the church and embraced the gospel as good news for those on the margins and disruptive to those with power, influence, money, status, etc. The living hope of the gospel is for everyone, but where you find yourself in society will determine with it’s good news or whether it’s difficult to receive because of what it asks of you.

In this sermon we talk hope in relation to our culture of fear.

In this sermon we consider what hope and judgment have to do with each other. We look at the line from the Apostle's Creed, that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. With a little help from C.S. Lewis’s book The Great Divorce, we reflect on God’s love as something that can feel like heaven or hell, depending on how you receive it.

In this sermon we talk a little more about hope and pain, particularly how our cries against pain and suffering is an act of rebellion that God welcomes. It is to say that these are not things God desires. We look at Psalm 130, Job, Paul and Ivan Karamazov in order to understand what it means to find comfort in Christ and to be a comfort for others.

In this sermon we look at hope in relation to the problem of evil and suffering. This is one of the biggest hangups when it comes to belief in God. We talk about how a proper understanding of God in relation to creation helps us understand why evil and suffering can exist in the first place and why we can still call God good.