The Sunday after Christmas is known among seminarians somewhat jokingly as "seminarian Sunday" because so many of us are asked to preach at our home churches while we are visiting family over the holiday. It is a joy to get to preach before the people that have walked along side you on the journey to and through seminary; and this year was no different. On December 28th, I preached on the Song of Simeon at the First Presbyterian Church of Lee's Summit.
Read MoreOn Friday, September 26, 2014 I had the honor of leading the Princeton Theological Seminary community in worship and communion. Each senior student is invited to plan and lead one of our daily worship services. From the liturgy to the music to the message, you are given total freedom to plan worship as you want. It is an amazing opportunity, but also an amazing responsibility! Included in this post is both a full video of the entire service, along with an audio recording of the scripture and sermon.
Read MoreOn Sunday, August 10th, 2014 I had the honor of preaching at my home church; the 1st Presbyterian Church of Lee's Summit, MO. Speaking on Matthew 14:22-33, one of the narratives where Jesus walks on the water, I explore what it means for us to be called into the storm.
Some interesting things about this sermon; first, I had completed my summer CPE internship at St. Mary Medical Center just three days prior, so that experience was fresh on my mind (as you may be able to tell). Second, this was my first time preaching without a manuscript or detailed notes. This means I move more than some other sermons, but also means that I don't have a sermon text to post here. At some point I may try to transcribe the sermon (if I'm overly bored or ambitious), but for now you will just have to enjoy the video!
Read MoreWhen I was a little kid, I spent a lot of time in church. With two parents involved in everything from choir practices and session meetings, to fish fry’s and Sunday school, we seemed to always be headed to or from church. Church was one of the few places outside my family where I felt truly at home, where I understood that I was loved and cared for, and where things mostly made sense in my young mind. However, of all of the things we did at church, there was one thing that I had a hard time understanding: communion.
Read MoreA little over a year ago, while I was home for winter break, Mary Erin and I were in the process of preparing for our wedding. So, in between time with family and friends we squeezed in visits to plan our catering and cake, photography and music. With the invitations ordered and pre-marital counseling underway, we decided it was time to begin registering for gifts. If you have not created a wedding registry before, or if it has been a few years, let me assure you that it is a daunting process. After spending some quality time with the customer service folks, you are given a price-scanner and free reign of the store. Any barcode you scan, that item goes on the list - along with a satisfying beep. You can eventually print out the list, or share it online with family and friends. But first, you and your future spouse must decide what you want to put on the list.
Read MoreI had the honor of preaching on Ash Wednesday, 2014, at the joint service of Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church, Forrest Grove Presbyterian Church, and The Anchor Presbyterian Church. In this sermon I explore how Isaiah's message on true and false worship (from Isaiah 58) relates to our understanding of what it means to be the people of God today.
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On December 29th, 2013 I had the honor of preaching at John Knox Kirk Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, MO. Any time I have the chance to preach with a community of fellow Christians it is a joy, but this was a special privilege as this was the church where I was baptized as an infant. This sermon was also prepared as part of the final project for my Old Testament Exegesis course at PTS.
Read MoreFor our preaching class we were tasked with preaching a funeral sermon based on one of a list of scenarios (which we then had to expand). Below is both the expanded scenario and the sermon that I wrote. I presented this sermon in class to a small group of my colleagues and my professor.
To make this explicit: this is a hypothetical scenario.
Read MoreThe healing at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple from Acts 3:1-10 serves as the framework for a discussion of healing, joy, and ultimately, thanksgiving. Preached at the 2013 Thanksgiving Vespers Service at Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church.
Read MoreToday I had the joy of serving as the pulpit supply (aka substitute preacher) for the Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase in Philadelphia, PA. The text was the tax collector and the Pharisee from Luke 18. Later on in the day, during a mission project Thompson Memorial was doing, I found out at the last minute I had been slated to preach there as well. So, with a bit of creative cutting on the drive to the retirement center where we were leading worship, I turned the full sermon into a 6 minute meditation. At the end of the day, one of the younger kids along for the trip said his favorite part of the day was hearing "the story about the tax collector and the other guy." May it bring you at least as much inspiration as it did him!
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