Sermons with Reverend Killjoy

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 10:40-42

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Who does the welcoming? How do we follow Jesus?

Third Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 10:24-39

Today's Gospel lesson includes Jesus bringing not peace, but a sword, as Jesus tells us how to follow him and engage in his work.

Second Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 9:35--10:23

Today we enter what the church has called "ordinary time," and it if we are to faithfully follow Jesus in this time it will not be ordinary at all.

Seventh Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

On the eve of Memorial Day, American deaths due to COVID-19 approached 100,000. Our reading from the First Letter of Peter today gives us a good opportunity to reflect on what this milestone means for our nation. It also gives us a good starting place to reflect on how upcoming changes to pandemic gathering rules will affect our congregation and how we follow Jesus together.

Ascension Day

Inspired by Festival of Homiletics preachers Rev. Lenny Duncan and Rev. Dr. William Barber II, I approached this favorite passage from the beginning of Acts with an eye toward the racialized economic and health effects of the current pandemic, and the Holy Spirit's response.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

John 14:15-21

Today's lectionary gives me a chance to talk about some of my favorite choral music, as an example of the comfort Jesus' promises can bring in this time of pandemic and uncertainty.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

John 14:15-21

Today's lectionary gives me a chance to talk about some of my favorite choral music, as an example of the comfort Jesus' promises can bring in this time of pandemic and uncertainty.

Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Well, this week our community and then our entire country exploded in civic unrest after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. In the middle of an ongoing pandemic. What does it mean for us to cry, "Come, Holy Spirit!" on Pentecost on a time like this?

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

Psalm 23

Amidst a global pandemic, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity to spend a week focusing on Psalm 23, one of the great biblical texts of comfort and grace.

Third Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

Luke 24:13-35

In the iconic story of the resurrected Jesus' walk to Emmaus, we find so many images that shape our life of faith and our worship even today. What can this familiar story teach us about how to follow Jesus in these unprecedented times?