July 19: The Wheat and the Weeds

July 19: The Wheat and the Weeds

So often we hear parables like this and our first instinct is to cast judgement by labeling others, or sometimes ourselves, as morally wrong... or bad; deserving punishment. But that is the opposite of what Jesus is suggesting here. Rather than judgement Jesus asks us to continue growing, to focus on living together, and bearing fruit, and promises to take care of the rest. He suggests that Mercy for one another is more important to our own well being than judgment. This can be a hard lesson indeed.

July 12: The Grace of the Sower

So often we catch ourselves centralizing the soil in this Parable of the Sower from Matthew, but that is to lose some of the grace that Jesus is putting on display here. The Sower scatters seeds all over, in silly, unexpected places just like God's Grace lands in unexpected and unrealistic places. Our only job, no matter what kind of soil we find ourselves as, is to allow grace to land on us and to let it do its work.

July 5 Sermon: Consistent Mercy on the Fourth of July.

As we celebrate the ideals and achievements of our country on one hand, many folks are wondering how we also hold remember the failures and missed ideals in the other. How do we remain Christian in a country where Christian Nationalism is so prevalent? When all feels loud, fast, and shallow, we remember that the real work of human dignity, justice, and mercy through Christ, is consistent, persistent and mysterious.

6/21 Sermon: Discipleship Continued

This week, we find Jesus continuing to teach about what discipleship looks like. More specifically, he has an honest conversation about what it costs. Echoing the words of the prophet Micah, Jesus warns that walking in the way of God—actually showing compassion to those most in need—may cost us something. "Those who lose their life for my sake will find it," Jesus says. So the question for us is this: What are we willing to let go of in order to truly know the Gospel?

June 14: The Freedom to Try

The day before this sermon, Well of Hope held a big and audacious fundraiser for New Beginnings, a congregation that meets inside the Denver women's correctional facility. This sermon was a debrief of that experience, but also an encouragement to explore the compassion and call of Jesus, to embrace vulnerability, and to be freed from our fear of failure. This text is a call to be pulled by compassion, to try things, to have grace with ourselves, and to reimagine "Success".