A Sermon about Listening and What It Means to Be a Disciple

      This is the first sermon preached at my internship site. Click here and here to learn more about the congregation I will be serving for the next year in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Augustana Lutheran Church 17 July 2016 + Lectionary 16C Luke 10.38-42 It’s been a hard couple of weeks. I’ve found …

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A Sermon about Faith, Community, and Subverting Boundaries

This weekend, I was invited to preach at my home congregation, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicago. I also had the unique opportunity to preach alongside my good friend and seminary colleague Analyse Triolo. The video below, courtesy of Analyse, is from Sunday morning's version, though we also preached at the Saturday night liturgy in the …

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Missed Connections: A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter

Grace Lutheran Church 3 April 2016 + Second Sunday of Easter (Year C) John 20.(1-18), 19-31 Alleluia! Christ is risen! A reading from Craigslist: “Wednesday afternoon blue line (towards O’Hare)—We made eye contact a few times during the ride. Would love to get to know you better. Let me know what you were wearing/where you …

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A Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday in Which I Quote Doctor Who

Grace Lutheran Church 7 February 2016 + Transfiguration of Our Lord Luke 9.28-43 After about a month and a half of vacation time, I am very pleased to be back among you this morning and preaching no less on this feast day of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. I spent most of the holiday season …

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That time I preached about the Reformation during Advent…

Sermon for ML 403 Preaching Lab Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 1 December 2015 Jeremiah 31.31-34 (Reformation Day) [With thanks to fellow ML 403 student Analyse Triolo for the recording!] When I was handed the little slip of paper for my final preaching text, I honestly anticipated what feast or festival I would be …

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“But the end is still to come” – A Sermon About Loss and Uncertainty in the Wake of Tragedy

Grace Lutheran Church 15 November 2015 + Pentecost 25B Mark 13.1-8 As part of their Military Voices Initiative to commemorate Veterans Day this past week, the popular NPR podcast StoryCorps featured a video about Marine Lance Corporal Travis Williams and his squad. Travis tells the story of when he and his team were sent on …

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A Sermon About Rejoicing and Not Worrying (Really?!)

Sermon for ML 403 Preaching Lab Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 3 November 2015 Philippians 4.4-7 (Advent 3C) [Click here to listen along!] I hate to break it to you, but you realize that we’re now just a mere five weeks and three days away from the end of the semester, right? That’s only …

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What’s the Catch? A Sermon About Costly Grace, Discipleship, and (of course) Threading Needles with Camels

Grace Lutheran Church 11 October 2015 + Pentecost 20B Mark 10.17-31 What’s the catch? It’s the question we ask when things just seem too good to be true. After four years of college and almost two years of seminary, I know that the surest way to attract poor students to your event is to offer …

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