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Mercy Not Sacrifice

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February 2014

February 12, 2014

The Bible has room for more than one gay Christian story

A couple of weeks ago, at Wheaton College, a very interesting dialogue happened. The campus...

February 07, 2014

Five hypotheses about original sin and total depravity

So I went to the Facebook United Methodist Clergy page yesterday with the question of...

January 2014

January 27, 2014

Wrestling with original sin (#sermon #podcast)

A week ago Sunday evening, we looked at the story of Adam and Eve as...

January 23, 2014

Were there mushrooms in Eden?

There are few things that make me smack my head more than the idea that...

January 21, 2014

Some Henri Nouwen thoughts on prayer

A woman from my church gave me a bunch of spiritual books because she was...

January 15, 2014

Do we want to live in a world where people get shot for texting?

It made me really sad and a little bit frightened to read about the latest...

November 2013

November 29, 2013

Eucharistic life (more than just “being thankful”)

It seemed appropriate to write about the word Eucharist since it means "thanksgiving" in Greek....

November 13, 2013

Lord, I thank you that I’m not like those people who thank God they’re not like other people

Our senior pastor Larry Buxton, who's a baseball nut, says that parables are supposed to...

September 2013

September 17, 2013

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”

The gospel reading at my Monday mass was Luke 7:1-10, the story of the centurion...

September 09, 2013

When friends are delivered from sin into fundamentalism

I'm hoping to write this in a vague enough way so as not to call...

August 2013

August 16, 2013

Everyday we’re posturing (Christian sin-talk with @RachelHeldEvans, @KevinWatson, and @RenovatusPastor)

To paraphrase that annoying hit dance song "Party Rock," everyday we're posturing. What I mean...

July 2013

July 26, 2013

Total providence or total depravity? (John Cassian as a remedy for Augustinian nihilism)

In a recent post, John Meunier writes, "You cannot speak intelligently about Wesleyan theology if...

June 2013

June 25, 2013

When I forget my song…

There's an African folktale that I've read with both of my sons. In the story,...

June 13, 2013

Can we define sin as “that which causes death”?

In the spring of 2010, I bought a Spanish language theology book, El Principio Misericordia...

May 2013

May 22, 2013

How in charge is God when tragedy strikes?

I knew it was coming: the Piper tweet, this time quoting Job in response to...

May 04, 2013

How does Paul define sin? (Romans 14:13-23)

The Daily Office reading for today was Romans 14:13-23. I was particularly struck by verses...

April 2013

April 20, 2013

Defining sin for adolescents

I'm on our church's confirmation retreat. For the last three years, we've framed our retreat...

April 19, 2013

Liberated from hate: my brother Ryan’s testimony

I pray a lot for the college kids from our church. In addition to the...

April 18, 2013

How did Jesus come to love guns and hate sex?

Since the gun debate is back in the news, I figured I would pull this...

April 04, 2013

Should I convict other people of their sin?

One of the litmus tests that evangelicals make when we evaluate a potential church family...

December 2012

December 24, 2012

Why name him Jesus?

In Matthew 1:21, Gabriel says to Mary, ""You are to give him the name Jesus,...

December 07, 2012

A law unto themselves: virtuous pagans in Romans 2

I've been struggling through the beastliest book about the beastliest book in the Bible: Doug...

October 2012

October 09, 2012

How can Jerry Sandusky get into heaven?

Jerry Sandusky was on the TV at the gym this morning, since his sentencing is...

July 2012

July 26, 2012

Is Paul a moral relativist in Romans 14:13-23?

I really was trying to stay out of trouble by sticking to the daily office...

July 10, 2012

Jesus vs. zombies in Ephesians 2

This past weekend for my message on Ephesians 2:1-10, I decided on a zombie theme...

February 2012

February 02, 2012

On preaching for the self-righteous bogeyman

It’s very easy to write a mediocre sermon about forgiveness. I’m already halfway down the...

August 2011

August 22, 2011

Donna Fairchild and the Failure of Grace

I read a story on cnn.com this afternoon that really saddened me about a woman...

May 2011

May 16, 2011

Pride: How We Hide Our Nakedness

Deadly Sin Sermon Series, 4 out of 9 -- 11/6/2010 Texts: Genesis 3:1-13; Luke 18:9-14...

May 16, 2011

Gluttony: Consumption vs. Communion

Deadly Sin Sermon Series, 3 out of 7 -- 10/30/2010 Text: Luke 16:19-31 How many...

May 16, 2011

Sloth: Burying God’s Gifts

Deadly Sins Sermon Series, 2 out of 7 -- 10/23/2010 Text: Matthew 25:14-30 Some of...