Listen to the unabridged sermon here: Believing is Seeing
Happy Easter.
Yes, I know it’s October. But here we are, in John chapter 20, on Easter morning — which is as good a reminder as any that you don’t need the church calendar to tell you to celebrate the risen Christ. Really, we should probably reorient ourselves to think of every Sunday as Easter Sunday. As Resurrection Sunday.
Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚
To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is to stand in need of grace. It is only through grace that any of us could dare to hope that we could become more like Christ.
That’s good news.
"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music — the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." ~ Henry Miller, novelist
This really resonates with me. Being intentionally present is rooted in this perspective. As Ted Lasso said, “Be curious.”
Finished reading: How to Talk about Jesus by Sam Chan 📚
Read through this little book today at the recommendation of a colleague. It’s not earth shattering.
It provides some nice suggestions for folks trying to be a bit more open about their faith.
I still struggle with the transactional tenor of the text.
LIsten to the unabridged audio here: Grace, Drunk Straight
This week in Beyond Sunday School we dove into the first two chapters of Brennan Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel: chapter one, “Something Is Radically Wrong,” and chapter two, “The Magnificent Monotony.” I have to say, I deeply appreciate a preacher who can nail the alliteration. Magnificent monotony. That’s good work.
I opened the session with a question, and I’ll ask it of you too: When you hear the word grace, what do you know is true — and what is still hard to trust?
The room answered fast. It’s free. You don’t have to do anything to gain it. And that, frankly, is the part that’s hardest to accept. Someone else added: grace is for everybody. Which drew an honest nod, because if we’re telling the truth, most of us would prefer it weren’t.
Listen to the unabridged sermon here: Believing is Seeing and Believing is Life - The King We Need
Have you ever listened to a song or hymn that ends on an unresolved note? Unlike many traditional hymns that finish on a bright, major chord leaving you with a sense of simple happiness, certain songs refuse to resolve so easily. There is something profoundly honest about that. While the sacrifice of Christ is finished—once and for all—our daily walk in response to that salvation is ongoing, calling us into something deeper.
That unresolved tension is precisely what we encounter in John 18 and 19. As we trace the events of Jesus’ final night—from his betrayal in the garden to his trial and eventual execution—we come face-to-face with a stark reality: the King we need is rarely the King we want.
This morning we get to hear from Pastor Joyce Weekly reminding us of the necessity to hold on to our first love through grace, truth, and time. I needed this, this morning.
I’m so grateful that the Midwest Presbytery is taking on pastoral burnout head on. Sean Nemecek of Anchor Ministries is here providing important insight into how to protect against burnout and identify it.
Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚
Our resistance to the furious love of God may be traced to the church, our parents and pastors, and life itself. They have hidden the face of a compassionate God, we protest, and favored a God of holiness, justice, and wrath.
There they are. There we are-the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith.My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace. - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?”
- bell hooks, essayist / critic
This really hits.
As I prepare to preach John 18 & 19 this Sunday, I am blown away by how timely it is for our moment. Particularly, the parallel of the religious leaders in the first century and the religious leaders of today.
“We have no king but Caesar!”
Whew.
Finished reading: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman 📚
I cannot wait for the next installment to hit my Libby. The story is starting to really get good beyond the humor and action.
Coffee and a laptop at Black Iron Coffee, what kind of trouble can I get up to? Probably more than I should.
I think one of the easiest things to do is critique. It’s a low bar. In what I write, preach, and record I endeavor to state what I am for. When critique is required in that context, I don’t shy away.
I got weary of many who simply complain.
Chart the path forward. Give us a vision of what it looks like for all things to be made new.
