St. Martin United Church of Christ - High Ridge, MO

Are churches ready to welcome and invite strangers? Or, have churches installed home security systems that keep strangers out in favor of stability and comfort? The world is full of hurting people but they need courageous Christians willing to take risks in caring for their needs. In this message, I explore Luke 12:32-40 and the need for our churches to reclaim their role as life saving institutions of forgiveness and love.

How do you measure the good life? Is happiness fundamentally about the accumulation of assets? There are 23 million storage units in the United States. Each year over 155,000 units are auctioned off for an average price of $425.00. Thankfully, Jesus gives us good news in Luke 12:13-21. Jesus doesn’t use storage units to determine our value and neither should you. Come and explore your worth to God in this message.

Growing up in the church meant memorizing the Lord’s Prayer. Unfortunately, I also learned to say it as fast as possible so I could get it done and out of the way! But if we are honest, who wants to slow down and really listen to Jesus’ model prayer? It’s really a “Self Assessment” aimed at getting us to think about the blessings of God and our shortcomings. If we took our time with the Lord’s Prayer then we would really need to change. This message is based on Luke 11:1-13.

Martha and Mary exemplify two forms of spirituality, I’ve been told, Martha is active and Mary is passive (Luke 10:38-42). Listening to Jesus is the goal, right? Well, not exactly. In today’s message I’ll tell you about a Jesus who seems to be expanding boundaries again and yielding to no one. Mary wants to be welcomed as a student of God’s word and Jesus doesn’t kick her out, or confine her enthusiasm.

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:26-37) is so well known that we might easily dismiss its revolutionary message. Be careful who you hate because when you end up in the ditch yourself you might need a Good Neighbor to take care of you and that person might just be an LBGT person, an Immigrant, or a person of color. That’s right, no pulling punches in this message! Your life might depend on the wideness of God’s mercy.

Have you ever been called “self-centered”? Naaman, the commander of a foreign army, had a hard time submitting to the prophet Elisha’s remedy for a debilitating disease. Naaman was expecting the 5-Star treatment but instead he was given a prescription over the phone. Naaman almost let his pride stand in the way of receiving God’s healing. How is God actively working in our world today, in ways that often humble us? Sometimes the cure we are looking for is found backstage! In this sermon, we will explore 2 Kings 5:1-14.

DEI programs are under attack in our culture today. In today's podcast sermon, we will explore this topic through the lens of Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, The Mission of the Seventy-Two. I'll make the argument that Christ affirms diversity, equality, and inclusion as core values of God's reign for all Christians regardless of their political leanings. In fact, these core values are the key ingredients to simple living.