Believe it or not, I'm not actually behind this time...

At long last, something has happened that I've been dreaming of for quite some time. I recently figured out how to do an update of the church's website, which means that I can now post sermon manuscripts and recordings on the PLWC site. They'll be posted weekly (I hope) at poconolakewesleyan.org/sermons from now on rather than here. At this point the only subscription option is to use an RSS feed, but I'm hoping to get more options on there eventually.

Of course, that means that the flow of content on this site is likely to drop significantly. I have some ideas of things that I'd like to post here in the future (hopefully weekly), but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, head over to the church's site to keep up with the sermons.

Wisdom: Reward, Healing, Joy

Reading: Proverbs 12:13-26; James 3:1-12

This is the third and final sermon in our brief series on the book of Proverbs. Wise people, Proverbs tells us, are very careful with their words. Note that Carey and I were visiting family on November 25th, so there won't be a sermon posted for that week.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.


Preached on November 18, 2012 at PLWC.

Wisdom: Mind Your Friends

Reading: Proverbs 9:1-18; Matthew 9:1-15

This is the second in our brief series on the book of Proverbs. There are a variety of recurring themes throughout the book, and one of them is that wise people choose their friends wisely.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on November 11, 2012 at PLWC.

Wisdom: The Ancient Science

Reading: Proverbs 8:1-36; John 1:1-14

I realized after I wrote this sermon that I've already preached a sermon called "The Ancient Science," but that one was based on the book of James. This week we're starting a short pre-Advent series on the book of Proverbs, because there's just some good stuff in there and I haven't really preached on it before.

Note that there is no sermon for October 28 since we had a special speaker in that service.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on November 4, 2012 at PLWC.

Deep Blood and Fearless Spirit

Reading: Colossians 1:3-29

We’ve spent some time focusing on a variety of very important spiritual disciplines that can help form us into deep, beautiful, and fearless people, but as important as they are, they’re not what matters most. None of it makes any difference if we don’t keep coming back to the deep blood of Christ and the fearless Holy Spirit.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on October 21, 2012 at PLWC.

Fearless Worship

Reading: Exodus 35:30-36:1; Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 96

Worship is one of those things that we don't tend to think of doing alone, and yet it can (and should) be a part of our individual spiritual lives.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on October 14, 2012 at PLWC.

Deep Community and Beautiful Hospitality

Reading: Psalm 133; Judges 21

It should be pretty clear from some of my other preaching that our treatment of and relation to others has a serious impact on our spirituality, so the call for this week is to evaluate whether we need to go deeper in our community.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on October 7, 2012 at PLWC.

Fearless Generosity

Reading: Isaiah 25:1-9; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Continuing with the need to become deep, beautiful, fearless people of Jesus Christ, this week we focused on how we can use our money and other resources to become deeper spiritually.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on September 30, 2012 at PLWC.

Beautiful Simplicity

Reading: Matthew 6:19-34, 19:13-30

Continuing with our "Deep, Beautiful, Fearless" theme, this week's focus was on the need for simplicity. Sometimes in order to follow Christ more closely, we need to do less, not more.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on September 23, 2012 at PLWC.

Deeper Prayer

Reading: Psalm 77, Daniel 6:6-13, 16-23; Acts 6:8-15, 7:54-60

So how do we start becoming the deep, beautiful, fearless people God wants us to be? It has to begin with prayer. This is not our work, but God’s work within us.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on September 16, 2012 at PLWC.

Deep, Beautiful, Fearless

Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21; Revelation 2:1-7; Luke 10:1-24

This week was our fall kickoff of sorts, but it was also bigger than that. I've been pushing people for the last couple of months to plan on being here for last Sunday's sermon because it sets the tone for a lot of what we're going to be doing in the future. The sermon is longer than usual (so if you download the recording, you'll get a warning that it's too big for the online virus scanner -- don't worry about that, just click on "Download anyway"). Also, the credit for the music in the first part of the recording is:

Sunsets And Rockers (Rebecca Foon) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon (again, you'll have to click on "Download anyway" when it gives you the virus scan warning).

Preached on September 9, 2012 at PLWC.

Two Sermons: "Peace With Others" and "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This"

Aaaand we’re caught up! I would promise not to get behind again in the future, but I think we all know better. Below we have the last sermon (a communion sermon) in our short series on peace, followed by a sermon setting us up for next week’s worship service.

“Peace With Others”

Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-15, 4:7-19

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on August 26, 2012 at PLWC.

“It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This”

Reading: Deuteronomy 30:11-20; 2 Timothy 1:6-14

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on September 2, 2012 at PLWC.

Three Sermons: "Scriptural Christianity," "Peace Within," and "Peace With God"

Almost caught up! Hopefully next week we'll be back up to where we should be, and hopefully I'll be able to keep my rear in gear after that.

"Scriptural Christianity"
Reading: Micah 6:1-16; Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on August 5, 2012 at PLWC.


"Peace Within"
Reading: Isaiah 2:2-5; John 14:15-31
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on August 12, 2012 at PLWC.


"Peace With God"
Reading: Exodus 33:7-11, 34:29-35; John 14:1-14
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on August 19, 2012 at PLWC.

Wake Up, Sleepyhead!

Reading: Matthew 25:1-13; Ephesians 5:1-21

(Note that Carey and  I were away on vacation on July 22, so there's no sermon for that week.) It's really easy to let drowsiness creep into our spiritual lives, just like it's really easy to get lazy and take for granted our relationships with others. The call, though, is to a relationship characterized by growth, health, and life.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on July 29, 2012 at PLWC.

The Almost Christian

Reading: Acts 26:1-32; John 12:17-28

Still playing catch-up… I should probably mention that a few of these sermons (this one included) are based on/inspired by John Wesley’s Standard Sermons. Seemed like a good idea to spend some time on some messages everyone needs to hear from time to time.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on July 15, 2012 at PLWC. 

Two Sermons: "A Story of Religion" and "Freedom for the Prisoners"

It's been a busy summer, so we're going to play catch-up a bit at a time. Just by way of record-keeping, Carey preached on June 24, so I won't post the recording here. The second sermon below was preached in response to World Hope's "Freedom Sunday" initiative, which was focused on raising awareness of human trafficking. Fair warning: it's not a lighthearted sermon.

"A Story of Religion"
Reading: Ephesians 2:1-22
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on July 1, 2012 at PLWC.


"Freedom for the Prisoners"
Reading: Luke 4:14-21; Psalm 68; Ruth 1:1-18
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on July 8, 2012 at PLWC.

Starbucks, Facebook, and the Ten Commandments

Reading: Exodus 19:1-8; 20:1-24

This is the third sermon in s mini-series of sorts looking at how God saves us, specifically by telling the story of the first few books of the Bible.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on June 17, 2012 at PLWC.

Six Sermons

I think this may be a record for me in getting behind. It's been a busy couple of months. The first four are the remainder of our Great Commission series, and the last two are part of a mini-series we're doing on how God saves us. Here we go...

"All Nations"
Reading: Romans 4:18-5:11; Matthew 28:16-20
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on May 6, 2012 at PLWC.

"Baptize Them"
Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9, 2:1-10; Matthew 28:16-20
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on May 13, 2012 at PLWC.

"In The Name"
Reading: 1 John 4:1-21; Matthew 28:16-20
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on May 20, 2012 at PLWC.

"I Am With You Always"
Reading: Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 2:1-21
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on May 27, 2012 (Pentecost Sunday) at PLWC.

"Save Me!"
Reading: Genesis 37:12-28, 45:1-11
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on June 3, 2012 at PLWC.

"Both Horse and Driver"
Reading: Exodus 14:10-31, 15:1-18
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on June 10, 2012 at PLWC.

Make Disciples

Reading: John 1:29-51; Matthew 28:16-20

We're continuing our journey through the Great Commission. This week we're getting into the nitty gritty of what we're supposed to do as the church.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on April 29, 2012 at PLWC.

Two Sermons: "All Authority" and "Therefore Go"

We're following Easter with a series devoted to the Great Commission. It's kind of a big deal, so we're going to take the time to really soak it in.

"All Authority"
Reading: Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 28:16-20
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on April 15, 2012 at PLWC.

"Therefore Go"
Reading: Genesis 12:1-8; Matthew 28:16-20

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on April 22, 2012 at PLWC.

Some Thoughts from a Survivor of the Young Adult Church Massacre

I’m not engaged enough to keep up with all the popular Christian blogs, but I do follow Rachel Held Evans, and recently I’ve seen several posts there (and elsewhere; this is not a new phenomenon) relating to the masses of young people who are disillusioned with the church. What got me writing was a spate of “time to leave the church” kinds of posts. Though, as a pastor, I clearly have a dog in this fight, I’m not criticizing those who have taken that position in one form or another. There are times to leave churches, and they are invariably painful times. So here I am, simply adding more words to the discussion.

I grew up in a Bible Belt church that did not seem (in my eyes) to value asking the hard questions, which did not sit well with my upbringing to parents who, thankfully, cared a great deal about asking those sorts of questions. Emotional response to “the Spirit,” who “moved” predictably in time with the music, was what mattered in my home church, though it’s certainly possible that I wasn’t paying attention when the harder questions were dealt with. Once when I taught a Sunday School lesson that challenged us to consider that heaven, biblically speaking, pointed us more toward resurrection and the union of heaven and earth than disembodied harp-playing on clouds at the pearly gates, I was tersely accused of misusing Scripture. End of discussion. And yet I came to faith in Christ in that church, and I am eternally grateful for the people who sacrificed to share their own imperfect understanding of God with me.

I languished in undiagnosed introverted agony for four years at a major Christian college while I consistently heard the message that I was somehow malformed because I lacked the “passion” for God that was expected, a passion that manifested itself in swinging from weepy-eyed “I just, like, just love Jesus so much!” moments to manic “Yay ra Jesus!” outbursts (at the appropriate times, of course, and usually in front of total strangers). I took a vicious delight in predicting the point in the Jesus ballads in chapel when most people would raise their hands in spontaneous, non-manipulated adoration of God. Ten years later, I can still name the worship leaders and chapel deans I hold responsible for nearly destroying my faith (that is not an exaggeration), but learning to show them grace is just as much a part of my healing as has been growing beyond them. And I still ache from the times when people I cared about and respected asked me, seriously, how I could be called to pastoral ministry when I was such an introvert.

Now I am the thirtysomething co-pastor (with my wife) of a small, un-hip Wesleyan church in the Poconos, an area that is desperately convinced that it is still rural, when in fact it became quite suburban (and even urban) several years ago. I loved our worship last Sunday, in which we sang along with Paul Baloche songs projected on the screen, then sang a Twila Paris chorus from 1982 played on the Hammond organ, then heard a twangy, old-style country duet sung by an eighty-some-year-old couple whose accompaniment was played from a muffled cassette tape. We are not cool, but I love us. Our combination of eighties-era wood paneling, seventies-era gold shag pew upholstery, and sixties-era faded red carpeting is, shall we say, not likely to make a magazine cover. And I, as a co-pastor, am likewise uncool. I do not have gel in my hair, which I crop military-short rather than letting it grow long and cool. I do not have cool thick-rimmed glasses. I do not wear cool graphic tees (or are ironic vintage tees the cool thing now? I’m not even cool enough to keep up). I do not have a cool soul patch. I do not have a cool tattoo, not because I think tattoos are evil, but because I can’t think of anything I like enough to want to have it stuck on my body for the next fifty years. I grew up in rural Indiana, for crying out loud, so I don’t even have a cool backstory. I wear a tie, I tie it properly, and I don’t apologize for it. As a preacher, I am so uncool that I refuse to use video clips from Christian skits and popular movies in my sermons, not because I want to be countercultural, but because I think they almost always hinder effective communication.

We are not perfect, but I still love us. I have cringed with shame when my parishioners have spouted the most backward, überconservative drivel, but I have also beamed with pride when they unexpectedly “got it” and showed love and grace to someone who absolutely did not deserve it. I could name the people who have left our church during the five years my wife and I have pastored here, and I know that some of them have been hurt, and I know that some of them would blame me. Some of them are right to do so, while others are not. I grieve the loss of those people. There have been days — quite a few, really — in my five years of pastoral ministry when I’ve been this close to stomping off into the woods to live as a hermit in a cave (again, not an exaggeration). And yet I still love us, because Jesus still loves us and claims us as His bride, and because I am surrounded by other Christians (especially my ever-patient wife) who gently bring me back, and because I think it lies at the heart of the gospel to insist on loving people who are so different than you that you can sometimes barely stand them.

If you are struggling in your relationship with the church or have left the church but still like Jesus, I’m not going to accuse you of being selfish and needy and write you off as being the real problem here. It is very true that in many cases, the church has evolved to perpetuate its own institution, and many (far too many) pastors lack the theological grounding needed to really be the church. As with most things, you are the problem, I am the problem, “The Man” is the problem… And yet while I am certainly not a Catholic, I recognize much truth in the claim that there is no salvation outside the church.  It’s not technically true, of course, but there is still truth in that claim. I sense in this generation that there is a desire to have Jesus while rejecting the church, and you simply can’t do that. The church is the continuation of Jesus’ mission; we’re a package deal. You might reject the institution, but you can’t reject the community of God’s people, and it’s only natural that even the most spontaneous expression of community will seek to perpetuate itself through gradual institutionalization. You will never find a perfect church, and I think that’s kind of the point: the redemption of the world requires a collision between a holy God and a sinful world. Not only the repentant sinners that Jesus encountered and healed, but the blind, self-righteous sinners, too. Hypocrites, Judaizers, legalists, gossips, and just plain mean people are not a new addition to the church. Not at all.

I am not writing to chastise those who have either left the church or are desperately seeking some non-church church alternative. I don’t claim to know your story, but I do know mine, and I know that there is hope. Do not give up on the church. Do not give in to church-bashing. This ugly, sometimes smelly, unlovable mess of a bride is still the bride of Christ. Take a deep breath, re-read Ephesians 1, remember that Paul is talking about the church in those beautiful words about the mysteries of God, and decide that you’re going to love the church just like you decide to love your spouse even when they’re as unlovable as they can sometimes be. And then go on to read Ephesians 2, where Paul hints at some of the stupid problems the Ephesian Christians were having, and tells them that God has built them together like two walls of his house anyway.

Yes, the church is a mess. Yes, in many cases it is hostile to the things younger generations are facing today. I could tell stories that would leave you picking your jaw up off the floor; I’m under no delusion about how the church works. But the beauty of God’s kingdom is that He loves her anyway.

Maundy Thursday and Easter sermons

Maundy Thursday: "The Hospitality of God"
Reading: Mark 14:12-31
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on April 5, 2012 at PLWC.

Easter: "Useless Preachers and Lying Witnesses"

Reading: Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-26
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on April 8, 2012 at PLWC.

Walking the Treacherous Path

Reading: Matthew 20:20-28, 21:1-11

Palm Sunday is, I think, a fascinating celebration. It's full of tensions and contradictions, and yet, if we're watching carefully, it also reveals a lot about what Jesus came to do.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on April 1, 2012 at PLWC.

Catching up: Lent 2012

Yeah, so...it's been a while. I'll just go ahead and post all of the sermons from Lent this year. We've been focusing on the parables of Jesus and the ways in which they challenge us.

"Set Your Face"
Preached on February 26, 2012 at PLWC.
Reading: Matthew 13:10-17, 44-45; Luke 9:43b-62
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

"An Update on Eden"
Preached on March 4, 2012 at PLWC.
Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-46
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

"Watching Grass Grow"
Preached on March 11, 2012 at PLWC.
Reading: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-43
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

"Playing Parts"
Preached on March 18, 2012 at PLWC.
Reading: Luke 7:36-50; Matthew 18:21-35
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

"Practice and Proving"
Preached on March 25, 2012 at PLWC.
Reading: Matthew 24:42-25:13; Luke 16:19-31
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

The Most Excellent Way to Fight

Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

This is actually the third sermon in our series on conflict based on 1 Corinthians. Carey preached the second sermon in the series and I intended to post the audio from that sermon, but we had some technical difficulties and the recording didn't get saved. At any rate, this sermon focuses on what Paul calls "the most excellent way" and how that ought to inform our approach to conflict.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on February 19, 2012 at PLWC.

In support of religious liberty

At this very moment, the religious liberties of thousands of American Christians are being trampled by the government.

Note that I said, “are being trampled,” not “are threatened.” It’s not something that might happen a year from now, it’s something that has gone on for decades, if not centuries, with hardly anyone caring to notice.

One of the current issues making the rounds of media outlets is that the Obama administration is threatening to force Catholics to pay for contraceptives, and that this is of course a grave threat to Catholics’ religious consciences, and that this will then threaten the entire notion of religious liberty for all Christians. What has gone unnoticed through all of this, and indeed for the last forty years, is that the religious consciences of those who object to war are trampled every time they pay their taxes. They are faced with a choice every bit as difficult as a Catholic hospital being directed to pay for contraceptives: either they pay their taxes with the knowledge that some of their money will support war and its related industries, or they must choose to break the law by withholding some or all of their taxes.

I say that this has gone unnoticed for the last forty years when in fact it has been much longer, but every Congress since 1972 has been presented with, and refused, an alternative. It’s called a Peace Tax Fund, currently before Congress as H.R. 1191 (though it has been languishing in a Congressional committee since last March), and it does just what it says on the tin: it’s a fund for those who wish to pay their taxes but want them used for peaceful purposes (the text of the bill specifies what that means).

Christians of all stripes have rallied around the Catholic cause of religious liberty; let’s see how many will follow the logical implications of their claims and likewise rally around their pacifist brothers and sisters in Christ.

More information and a link to contact your representatives can be found at peacetaxfund.org.

How to Win Any Fight

Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23


We've got a few weeks before Lent, so we thought it would be a good time for a short series dealing with an issue we all face: conflict. Dealing with conflict well is a struggle for the best of us, and these days it can be easy to become discouraged and trapped in destructive cycles. But there is hope.

Click here for a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on February 5, 2012 at PLWC.

Celebrating women in the kingdom of God

My heart breaks for any women who heard John Piper speak these words. Author and blogger Rachel Held Evans has called for men to respond to Piper by celebrating the importance of women in the church, so, while I wish I had the time to write something fresh, I will instead highlight two sermons that I have posted here in the past.

The first one is called "The Story of the Women," which I preached in April of 2010 as part of our "The Story of..." series. The second is a little more focused on the issue of women in ministry: "Before and After: Personhood" (that link will take you to a .pdf file; click here to download a recording of the sermon) was preached in May of 2011 as part of our "Before and After" series.

Don't Wanna

Reading: Jonah 3:1-4:11

It's been a while since I preached on the book of Jonah, which is a shame. It's a great book. This week we looked at the second half of the book, which shows us that the real focus of the story is Jonah and how he responds to God. His response is unfortunately immature, as is the case for many of us...

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on January 22, 2012 at PLWC.

A Beautiful Mess

Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10; Romans 12:3-8

This week's sermon is a little out of the ordinary since I preached it as part of a pulpit exchange with Pocono Lake United Methodist Church. This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and so we decided to switch preachers for one Sunday in recognition of our unity in Christ. I'm afraid I therefore don't have the recording, but if I gain access to it I'll post it later.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Preached on January 15, 2012 at Pocono Lake United Methodist Church.

What Time Means

Reading: Leviticus 23:1-14; Romans 14:1-18

And suddenly it's 2012. Not sure how that happened. This is our first sermon for the year, and like many other people in this season, I had time on the brain. What is our time for, though? Time does have a purpose in the kingdom of God, and time is heading in a direction.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on January 8, 2012 at PLWC.

We Have a Savior!

Reading: Luke 1:46-55, 67-79

Sorry for the lack of posting recently; Carey and I were on vacation over New Year's. I still owe a Christmas sermon, though, so here it is. This is the conclusion to our Lamentations: We Need a Savior series. I should note that this sermon was actually preached in two parts during our Christmas Day worship service, so there's a break in there when Carey reads Mary's song (about eight and a half minutes in).

Click here to view a manuscript for this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on December 25, 2011 at PLWC.