Loving God and Loving Others, Part 1

This sermon is based on Matthew 22:34-40. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A Series Overview: There are all sorts of theologies. There’s systematic theology, biblical theology, historical theology and practical theology. There is Reformed theology, Lutheran theology, Wesleyan theology, Charismatic theology and Catholic theology. There is Continental theology, feminist theology, African theology, Liberation theology and Asian theology.  And we could go on, but that is not the point. So, let me ask you this: Is theology for the head, for the heart, for the feet, or for the mouth? In other words, is theology primarily for believing, for feeling, for doing or for talking? Now, if you answered all of the above, you might be on to something. See, for our theology to be any good for us and for others, it has to be a livable theology. It has to be something

How to Win the War

How do you win a war? You might think that the answer is found in a superior army, a greater air force and a better navy. Or maybe advanced weapons turn the tide or perhaps its financial resources that win the day? None of your answers are even close to the truth! To discover the secret of successful warfare, you need to embrace the Liechtenstein strategy. In 1866, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia went to war. Liechtenstein allied themselves with Austria and sent 80 soldiers to tilt the war in their favor. The Austrians deployed these soldiers to guard a key highway between Austria and Italy (Italy was a Prussian pawn). One month and eight days later, the war ended (!), and the Liechtenstein army returned home to world applause. Not only was no one wounded or injured during the campaign, but while they left with 80

Living Sacrifices

This sermon is based on Romans 12:1-2. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A Series Overview: There are all sorts of theologies. There’s systematic theology, biblical theology, historical theology and practical theology. There is Reformed theology, Lutheran theology, Wesleyan theology, Charismatic theology and Catholic theology. There is Continental theology, feminist theology, African theology, Liberation theology and Asian theology.  And we could go on, but that is not the point. So, let me ask you this: Is theology for the head, for the heart, for the feet, or for the mouth? In other words, is theology primarily for believing, for feeling, for doing or for talking? Now, if you answered all of the above, you might be on to something. See, for our theology to be any good for us and for others, it has to be a livable theology. It has to be something

If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going. . . .

One of my favorite episodes in the old TV series, The X-Files, was aptly named “Humbug.” The plot was easy enough to follow. The agents are called to investigate a strange murder in a Florida town inhabited by sideshow performers. And while the whodunit is fun (was it the Fiji Mermaid, the Dog-Faced Boy or one of the other people from the town?), the real story (at least for me) focused on one of the sideshow characters named Dr. Blockhead. Now, Dr. Blockhead was in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment by any means possible. One of the key scenes is when Scully found him torturing himself by being suspended by large hooks that ripped away at his flesh. When he saw that Scully could not grasp what he was doing, he explained: “It's a variation of a Native American sun dance ritual. I suspend myself by these hooks, and the pain

Living Church

This sermon is based on Acts 2:42-47. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A Series Overview: There are all sorts of theologies. There’s systematic theology, biblical theology, historical theology and practical theology. There is Reformed theology, Lutheran theology, Wesleyan theology, Charismatic theology and Catholic theology. There is Continental theology, feminist theology, African theology, Liberation theology and Asian theology.  And we could go on, but that is not the point. So, let me ask you this: Is theology for the head, for the heart, for the feet, or for the mouth? In other words, is theology primarily for believing, for feeling, for doing or for talking? Now, if you answered all of the above, you might be on to something. See, for our theology to be any good for us and for others, it has to be a livable theology. It has to be something

How Can I Look It Up When I Can’t Spell It?

True story. My parents had a friend who had made several bad life choices, and things were not looking up; but he had figured out a sure-fire solution to change that. Back in the day, if you were not a good speller, you were sunk. There was only one course of action: If you didn’t know how to spell a word, you had to look it up in the dictionary. But to many, that only added insult to injury: If you didn’t know how to spell it, how could you find it in a dictionary? Our friend had a solution. He created a dictionary of misspelled words. He figured out every possible way a word could be misspelled, wrote those words down phonetically and then put them in his own dictionary. It took years to put it together, but he figured it would sell like hätˌkākes. Unfortunately, right before he

Living Out Our Election

This sermon is based on Ephesians 2:8-10. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A Series Overview: There are all sorts of theologies. There’s systematic theology, biblical theology, historical theology and practical theology. There is Reformed theology, Lutheran theology, Wesleyan theology, Charismatic theology and Catholic theology. There is Continental theology, feminist theology, African theology, Liberation theology and Asian theology.  And we could go on, but that is not the point. So, let me ask you this: Is theology for the head, for the heart, for the feet, or for the mouth? In other words, is theology primarily for believing, for feeling, for doing or for talking? Now, if you answered all of the above, you might be on to something. See, for our theology to be any good for us and for others, it has to be a livable theology. It has to be something

What Are We to Make of All This?–Part 2

It was hockey heaven. In February 2025, four nations faced off against each other to decide which country was the supreme hockey power in the world. Sweden, Finland, Canada and the US all sent their best players to Montreal to play for hockey glory. And it was glorious. It was fast. It was offense. It was defense. It was unbelievable goaltending. It was physical. It was everything they had versus everything the other team had, and it was breathtaking. There was not a minute that disappointed. And at the end, it all came down to who had the biggest heart, who had the indomitable will to win and who refused to give up. And it all came down to overtime in the gold-medal game between Canada and the US. And it was absolutely spectacular. Why? Because we all love a great finish (even if the Finns weren’t in the game!). Today,

Living by Grace in a Sin-Filled World

This sermon is based on Ephesians 2:1-5. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A Series Overview: There are all sorts of theologies. There’s systematic theology, biblical theology, historical theology and practical theology. There is Reformed theology, Lutheran theology, Wesleyan theology, Charismatic theology and Catholic theology. There is Continental theology, feminist theology, African theology, Liberation theology and Asian theology.  And we could go on, but that is not the point. So, let me ask you this: Is theology for the head, for the heart, for the feet, or for the mouth? In other words, is theology primarily for believing, for feeling, for doing or for talking? Now, if you answered all of the above, you might be on to something. See, for our theology to be any good for us and for others, it has to be a livable theology. It has to be something

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