Pastor Dan’s teaser for this talk:

Be the Miracle. 

(Could rightly be answered by the grieving…)
Yes, damn it, we prayed 
day and night,
night and day
for one 
but never 
got it! 

Did you even hear us?

At one time, humans were certain that the Earth was flat! What makes us certain of anything? Is it better to live humbly, knowing that we don’t know everything? Pastor Jody talks about Jesus’ response when people asked, ‘Who sinned to make this so?’

Juicy stories are hard to resist; they feed the appetite of social media. Jesus aroused curiosity when he couldn’t resist welcoming people whom others would cross the street to avoid. Pastor Dan talks about the woman who crashed a respectable dinner party to anoint Jesus’ feet.

Most of us aren’t tempted to steal classified documents but we do face small, victimless temptations, like eating too many sweets. To help us understand Jesus’ temptation, Pastor Jody explains how we may be undermined by a good thing we are tempted to do.

The transfiguration of Jesus seems other-worldly and hard to relate to concerns like the lofty price of eggs. Yet people today do experience  ‘thin places’ where heaven feels nearby. Pastor Dan talks about how damaged times need more transfigured people.

According to gospel writer John, ‘The Spirit blows where she will.’ The Old Testament talks of the breath of God and the wind with which God created the world. Pastor Jody addresses what can we learn about what sustains us by exploring the Spirit.

Pastor Dan has discovered a relationship between tending old houses and tending churches. He shares four lessons learned from rehabbing ten different houses.

When the unimaginable happens some jump for an explanation, some lash out, and some just want to forget. After Jesus rocked the fishermen’s world with a huge catch, they became his followers and friends. Pastor Jody considers the implications.

Christianity in the US is increasingly mean-spirited – appointing all white males as gatekeepers, labeling immigrants of color a threat, and deeming non-heterosexuals perverse. Pastor Dan talks about what to do in the face of growing Christian Nationalism.

Jesus was a hometown boy who made good; then the town tried to throw him off a cliff! Pastor Jody reminds us that maybe we have wanted to ‘throw someone off a cliff’ after they confronted us about our behavior or said something that changed our lives.