If the church is going to speak to people weary of religion, it will not be by offering better techniques or louder certainty, but by daring to say what Paul so plainly said: Christ is enough.
Surveying Scripture, it is an immense comfort to know we’re not alone in our sinfulness.
Christian faith is never a solitary possession. When the congregation confesses, the old speak for the young, the strong for the weak, and the clear-voiced for the trembling.

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Advent is the church’s entrance once again into the holy rhythm of Christ’s life. The bride who longed to see her Bridegroom come in glory, now longs anew to see Him come in humility, gently, even swaddled up in a manger.
I must admit, I have never liked preaching on (or reading) a Palm Sunday text to begin Advent. All three years in the lectionary include this option, but in nine years of pastoral ministry I went this route only once (It was my first year). Why did I not do it again?
God’s gifts are received, and the faithful heart offers gratias, and thanks are given in return.
Consider the word, “salvation.” It comes from the same root word as salvage.
He was a beggar on the streets. And, he was as good as dead if he didn't receive a blessing. The words, "you're cursed" haunted his mind.
Where Jesus says, “She’s not dead, she’s sleeping,” death dies.
It is important to note the “mission” character of this text. Indeed, these would have been strange words for Isaiah’s audience. The Israelites had taken the covenantal promise and the language of separation and chosen to mean that the message of salvation and restoration was meant for no one but them.
It is somewhat rare that preachers get a blessing as a sermon text, but that is what Jude gives us. The genre is entirely fitting for the Last Sunday of the Church Year, especially if your congregation has had a tough year (you know what I mean).
Stay alert! Stay awake! Do not get too comfortable. Do not grow complacent. Whatever you do, do not fall asleep. The day is coming. It is coming soon. Time is short. So, stay awake! Stay alert!
What does it mean to be a child of God and to carry his image? This is a theological question, but it is a question necessary for our self-understanding
But I can’t evade the question. And neither can you. Because every day God puts it to us. We don’t hear his voice, but nevertheless his voice echoes within us. Asking, prying, confronting us: What do you want me to do for you?
When our mind betrays us, our body fails us, and our soul can’t be comforted, our Jesus now saves us.