Tag: Crucifixion
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Dying To Tell The Truth – A Sermon On John 18.1-19:42 For Good Friday
“That’s not a ditch I’m willing to die in.” You know that saying, right? You’ve probably heard others say it. Maybe you’ve said it. The thing that strikes me about that saying is that I’ve never heard anyone say, “That is a ditch I’m willing to die in.” Have you? And neither have I said Read more
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The Jesus Choice – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42 For Good Friday
We often come to this day, Good Friday, and talk about what Jesus on the cross did for us. We talk of his death as having accomplished and completed something for us. I think that’s why a little later in the liturgy we will say, “We glory in your cross, O Lord.” More and more, Read more
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On Days Like This – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42 For Good Friday
I used to try to understand, explain, or make sense of this day, Good Friday. I don’t anymore. I’ve given that up. What do you say on days like this? What can be said? Besides, most of the explanations that I’ve heard or come up with myself don’t really satisfy. They are mostly ways of Read more
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A Call For Change – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42
Here’s my question. What is the cross of Jesus asking for in your life today? And what is it showing you? Most of us come to Good Friday believing that the cross gave us something. Most of us come to this day saying that “Jesus died for our sins.” I’m not so sure anymore. I… Read more
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Lifting Up Our Contradictions – A Sermon On John 3:14-21
Some of the funniest and most terrifying aspects of my life are my self-contradictions – the contradictions with which I live, the contradictions that live within me. My wife would probably say they are more aggravating and frustrating than funny. Most days my life is a living contradiction between what I say and what I… Read more
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Life In The Shadow Of The Cross – A Good Friday Sermon
Good Friday – John 18:1-19:42 What about your death gives meaning to your life today? In what ways is death inviting you to live more fully, to connect more deeply with others, to love more freely and completely? My stomach is churning even as I ask you those questions. I don’t want to face my Read more
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Aligning Our Lives – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42 For Good Friday
We tend to let the cross and Jesus’ death overshadow not only this day, but the entirety of our faith, as if it is the thing and the only thing. But what if it’s just one more thing, one among many? I do not mean to diminish or negate the cross on this day. But… Read more
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Struggling With The Cross – A Good Friday Sermon On John 18:1-19:42
Before I talk about Good Friday I want to talk about Bad Friday. That’s the Friday that I struggle with. Don’t you? How are we to make sense of an all powerful, can do anything, kind of God who seemingly chooses to do nothing? That’s the Bad Friday question. Read more
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The Snaky Places of Life – A Sermon On Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21
The serpent that bites and kills and is also the serpent that heals and give life. That doesn’t make sense but what if that’s really how it is? What if the snaky places are not so much places to escape but places from which soul-medicine arises? Can opposites really coincide in that way? Read more
Interrupting the Silence 