When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes

01/20/26

19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.

Bradley Gray

01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

Steven Paulson

01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

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Bradley Gray

01/25/23

Consider Jesus

All of Scripture, every last syllable of it, is meant to drive us to "consider Jesus," the One who comes to "make us right" by gifting us his righteousness.

Donavon Riley

01/23/23

And From That Very Hour, You Are Healed

Jesus not only healed her daughter, but he also gave himself to her. Wherever she went from then on, he was with her.

Wade Johnston

01/20/23

The Gospel for Morons

Morons though we all have been, there is nothing we need that Christ hasn’t given us.

John Bombaro

01/19/23

True Tolerance

We assert, we herald, the truth about God becoming King of the world in and through Jesus of Nazareth alone. It is our public announcement.

Dan Weber

01/14/23

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-25 (Epiphany 3: Series A)

Though it may feel to us like the darkness is winning, God’s Word reveals the darkness is waning. The Light of the world has come.

John Bombaro

01/13/23

Very Superstitious: A History of the Sign of the Cross

The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it.

Haroldo Camacho

01/10/23

Another Look at the "Loving" Expert on the Law

The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.

Dan Weber

01/07/23

Gospel: John 1:29-42 (Epiphany 2: Series A)

When all the people had been baptized, when all the people had washed the filth of their sins into the water, Jesus went into the water to draw their sins unto Himself.

Robert Kolb

01/07/23

Dismantling Mistrust from the Pulpit

The sermon takes place in the context of a multi-facetted set of relationships experienced through the weeks and months of being together in congregation and community. Those relationships shape the credibility of the preacher in the pulpit.

Steven A. Hein

01/06/23

In the Stars

The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.

Luke Kjolhaug

01/02/23

A Toast to the End of Ourselves

Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.

Dan Weber

12/31/22

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 (Epiphany: Series A)

Because we could never intuitively figure it out, God reveals Christ to us.

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