Life Renewed in Burning Hearts
The tomb is empty. The disciples don’t know what to make of it. Two heartbroken travelers meet a stranger on the road to Emmaus, and as he opens the scriptures to them, something stirs, and then breaks wide open when … Continue reading →
“Father, Into Your Hands…” — Crucifixion
From the road to Golgotha to the silence of a sealed tomb, Luke’s account of the crucifixion is filled with voices, scoffing rulers, a converted criminal, a Roman centurion, weeping women. In this Palm Sunday/Passion message from Luke 23:26–56, Tom … Continue reading →
Jesus on Trial…and All around Him.
Pilate finds him innocent. Herod finds him entertaining. The crowd chooses Barabbas. In this message from Luke 23:1–25, Tom examines the competing interests swirling around Jesus’ trial, religious leaders protecting their power, a Roman governor looking for political advantage, and … Continue reading →
“You were with Jesus. Do you Know Him?”
Three times Peter denies knowing Jesus. Three times he hides his identity. Then a rooster crows, Jesus turns and looks at him, and Peter weeps bitterly. In this message from Luke 22:54–71, Tom follows Peter’s painful journey of self-discovery and … Continue reading →
Beloved Community: Light for the City
What does it mean to be salt and light in a world that feels like it is coming apart? In this message from Matthew 5:13–16, Acts 2:42–47, and 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Jason reflects on Jesus’ call for his followers to … Continue reading →
A Culture of Shame and a Messiah Who Says No to It
Shame is not guilt, it doesn’t say “you did something wrong,” it says “you are wrong.” In this message from John 9:1–16 and John 8:2–11, Carl examines how Jesus consistently dismantles shame-based systems that crush the vulnerable and protect the … Continue reading →
“Lord, Shall We Strike with the Sword?”
In the garden on the Mount of Olives, everything accelerates, prayer, betrayal, a sword drawn, an ear healed, and Jesus arrested in the dark. In this message from Luke 22:39–54, Tom walks us through the arrest of Jesus and the … Continue reading →
Living in Two Worlds
Even at the table where Jesus gave them his body and blood, the disciples were arguing about who was greatest. In this message from Luke 22:23–38, Tom unpacks the profound gap between the kingdom Jesus was ushering in and the … Continue reading →
A Black History of Witness, an Imperial History of Erasure
In a sermon on Exodus 1:5-14 and Psalms 78:1-7, Carl Garrison speaks about how empires erase memory and the old saying that “history repeats itself.” Instead, Carl says that through keeping to God’s teachings and remembering, there is hope that … Continue reading →
Why Authoritarian Power Fears a Truth-Telling Church
In Acts 5, the apostles are dragged before the authorities for the second time and ordered to be silent. Their response is simple and devastating: “We must obey God rather than human beings.” In this message from Acts 5:27–41, delivered … Continue reading →