JR.'s Sermons

Vampires scare us because they are creatures that live by taking life from others. Our culture encourages this sort of behavior, but we know it’s death for us. We find freedom in the way of the cross – Paul shows us that God is not a taker, but a...

When there's a screen between us, it becomes easier to ignore our humanity. On one hand, we bully, shame and blame online much more readily than if we are face-to-face. On the other hand, because of this culture of online shaming, we rarely express...

We don’t naturally think about technology from a theological perspective. But since everything is spiritual, we must learn how to approach technology with God in mind. While the first questions that come to mind about screens in particular is a...

We're taught only to be friends with those who can benefit us in some way. Even the Ancient Romans valued this kind of friendship. But Jesus shows us a different way: to engage in friendships for what you can GIVE, not what you can get. When we love...

Though faith begins as an exciting journey, it often crystallizes into legalism. We become convinced God only works through particular, narrow forms of faith. John Cage's unique musical experiment, 4'33" is the soundtrack for Jesus' conversation...

We all desire to fit it somewhere. We spend a lot of time developing social "currency" so we can earn our place. But as God tells the Corinthians, the life Jesus offers us is upside down. God doesn't value what the world does. Our currency is...

When we've been hurt, revenge feels good and right. But taking revenge only feeds the cycle of violence, turning victims into victimizers. Forgiveness offers us a way to break the cycle and find life.

Our desires often cause us anxiety as we wonder how to satisfy them. Do we have enough... money? ...love? ...success? ...faith? Jesus promises us that when we orient our desires by seeking God's kingdom first, we find how our lives make sense.

Everyone faces crises of faith. In those moments, we can’t help but wonder if faith is like a kids’ magic show – just smoke and mirrors. But the difficult questions of faith can be a gateway to a deeper reality, a faith that can only be...

Billy Idol tells his pregnant sister that today is a nice day for a White Wedding. In doing so, he flaunts the purity culture that tells his sister her worth comes from what she's done. His attitude is a picture for us of how God rescues us: we are...