The story of Santa Claus begins in the third century, when the man who would become Saint Nicholas started life as Nikolaos of Myra. He was, by most accounts, a good man who did not wear a XXXL red jumpsuit, but who did try to bring the unconditional love of Christ into the world in a […]
Category Archives: Jesus
The Bible Is Not Against Gay Marriage, and Here’s Proof
Hi everyone! I’ve apparently decided that I no longer want anyone to like me, so here come all of my thoughts and opinions, as a Christian, on why I changed my Facebook profile picture to a rainbow the other day. I’m sure to anger non-Christians, who don’t believe that a millennia-old book should be dictating […]
The Song I Refused To Sing in Church
I sing a lot of things in church. I have sung hymns, anthems, spirituals, arias, and chants. I have also sung contemporary Christian songs and pop stuff right from the radio. I have sung “Some Nights” by Fun., and “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia. I have sung Owl City, Nico & Vinz, […]
George Bailey and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad, Wonderful Life
When Mark, Rachel, and I first sat down to discuss the possibility of doing another movie sermon series, this time based on the idea of a “call,” there were dozens of film suggestions thrown out into the ring. When “It’s a Wonderful Life” was mentioned I quickly stiffened and said “That is one of my […]
Believing in Place
As has become my tradition (three times makes it a tradition I guess), I am posting the sermon that I gave yesterday in church. The only thing that I want to say about it ahead of time is that, though I think its themes are universal, it has been tailored very specifically to my congregation […]
Jesus Went Viral
As some of you may know, in addition to my regularly scheduled duties as minister of music at my church, this past Sunday I was also in charge of the message. Supposedly we are going to start live streaming and/or podcasting these things, but since that has not happened, and many people have asked for […]
Welcome Back Kotter, Jesus of Nazareth, and Me
It’s a funny feeling, walking back into a place from your childhood as an adult. It’s weird enough looking back at the house you grew up in, noticing how small everything looks, and wondering what happened to that store that used to be on the corner, but when you arrive back “home” and are in […]