Luke 8:49–50

Luke 8:49-50 

English Standard Version 

  There's so many different verses where I think that I've come across the most challenging teaching or command of Jesus yet.  This one is certainly on the list... Jairus has just found out that his daughter is dead, and the first thing that Jesus says is:  do not fear.  The only person who can say such a thing is one that knows that death is just a veil, not something permanent, not something definitive.  But that's a hard thing for us to grasp, and I'm sure that's why Jesus tells this directly to Jairus -- before the fear can sneak in and tear him apart, Jairus needs to focus on Jesus, to trust in him.

  I have questions as to why Jesus didn't do something before this, or why Jesus doesn't do this more often, or why Jesus doesn't intervene today... but those are questions where the answers remain shrouded in mystery.  For the moment, I try, in the midst of my fear, to hear these words of Jesus to me.  Do not fear, only believe.  In the midst of all the other voices trying to have me focus on them, in the midst of all the doubt that I have... do not fear, only believe.

Luke 8:46–48

Luke 8:46-48 

English Standard Version 

  I wonder how this story might've been different if Jesus hadn't stopped.  Imagine that the woman was healed and Jesus never said anything.  She certainly wouldn't have become the center of attention, which she might have preferred, but perhaps she wouldn't have realized that Jesus was using the physical healing to restore her to community.  He speaks to her with a tenderness that she might not have heard for years. She calls her daughter, for her healing is physical and spiritual -- she once more is not isolated, but is a full member of society -- what a tremendous gift that Jesus has given her.  The whole community sees this and can celebrate with her.  She can truly go in peace.  

  What kind of peace is your soul longing for?  How can Jesus give us back to a community, restoring relationships that have been broken for any number of reasons?  Jesus heals the vertical and horizontal rifts in our society, and we are not the same after an encounter with the divine.  When we pray for healing, for our own and for others, may we look for ways that God is changing the way we interact with one another while we anticipate physical healing as well.

Out of Control Cars and the Gospel

Luke 8:43–45

Luke 8:43-45 

English Standard Version 

  Yesterday, we had a man who had prospered in society throwing himself down before Jesus.  Here we have a woman who is on the other end of the societal spectrum, and she is in the same place, throwing herself before Jesus.  

  What's amazing to me is that Jesus notices.  We so often feel so insignificant, and we wonder if God would care about us... but Jesus knows us and knows our needs and attends to us, even in the midst of the chaotic busy-ness of life.  I cannot promise you that Jesus will fix everything about you in a moment like this... but Jesus does promise that he will be with us, that he loves us, and that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear.  

  The disciples wondered if Jesus could notice such things, given the crowds.  But the Good Shepherd knows his flock, and pursues every lost sheep with love and patience.

Ephesians 3:1-13 Sermon (February 15, 2026)

Luke 8:40–42

Luke 8:40-42

English Standard Version 

  So many of us have been there.  When life gets desperate, nothing else matters.  Here is a synagogue ruler, and we don't know what debates or discussions he's had about Jesus.  Maybe he's convinced that Jesus is who he says he is... maybe he's uncertain... we don't know, but it doesn't matter.  The man is desperate, and in those moments, we realize that all the trappings and comforts of achievements do not matter.  His daughter was dying, and so he throws it all aside and clings to Jesus.

  May we have the wisdom and humility to do the same.  May the Spirit help us see when we are not desperate that our achievements do not matter in the grand scheme -- may we run to Jesus each day, clinging to him as though he is the thing that matters most.  

Luke 8:37–39

Luke 8:37-39

English Standard Version 

  I can't help but read this passage and feel great sorrow for the people of the Gerasenes.  Jesus was in their midst, and they sent him away because they were filled with fear.  What a missed opportunity -- they could have been transformed the same way this man was.  

  He wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus had a mission for him -- he was sent to go and share the story of what God has done.  It's hard to hear rejection -- he may have been certain as to what he thought God wanted for him.  But just because God said no to this request, that doesn't mean that God didn't have a plan for his life.  There was a story to be told, and think about how many people might have heard the good news because Jesus sent him to tell the story.  

  How can we tell the story?  How are we sent to say what Jesus has done for us?

Luke 8:34–36

Luke 8:34-36 

English Standard Version 

  People should rejoice at this transformation -- the man had previously lived naked and out of his mind amidst the tombs.  Jesus has liberated him from the forces that held him captive, and gives him the opportunity to rejoin the community.  

  The community sees him sitting with Jesus and they are afraid.  

  People fear what they don't understand, and so perhaps we close our minds to what God might be doing in our midst.  We question what it means to be powerful, what it means to be community, what it means to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  How will we respond when God calls us?  What does it mean for the community to change?

  The more time we intentionally set aside to hear from God, the more likely we are to respond with openness when God is on the move.  

Sermon on Ephesians 2:11-22 (2-8-2026)

Luke 8:30–33

Luke 8:30-33 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever felt overwhelmed, like life is throwing 1,000 things at you and you don't have the capacity to handle all of them?

  This man had a legion of demons within him -- not just one.  How could he withstand such pressure?  

  Even though the forces of evil may seem overwhelming to us, they are no match for Jesus.  They recognize the authority of Jesus, and Jesus will act to save us.  I'm reminded of the vision of Jesus as presented in Revelation, with the sword coming out of his mouth and robes dripped in blood.  He comes as victor to deliver us, reminding the world that he is the most powerful force, and he uses that power to deliver us.

Piles of Snow and the Gospel

Luke 8:26–29

Luke 8:26-29 

English Standard Version 

  Do you ever check the traffic before you leave the house, to ensure you don't end up caught in traffic and inconvenienced?  

  What if you knew there'd be a crazy naked man at the end of your journey?  I'm willing to bet you'd find an alternate route to avoid that.

  Jesus doesn't.  Remember -- Jesus knows everything, so he knew exactly who would be waiting for him when he ended up in the country of the Gerasenes.  

  He went anyway.  He went directly into the heart of the chaos that evil causes in our lives.  This is what sin wants for all of us -- to separate us and destroy us.  To each and every one of us, Jesus shows up, bringing healing and grace.

Fog and the Gospel

Luke 8:22–25

Luke 8:22-25

English Standard Version 

  I am not the best at following directions.  There's some disconnect switch in my brain that flips whenever someone begins to give me directions, and when they conclude, I never know quite what to say next.  I typically nod and carry on, hoping that I can fill in the gaps where I completely missed what was being communicated.  So when I inevitably get lost, it's my own fault for failing to have followed the steps that were issued.

  The disciples here did exactly what Jesus told them to do.  They were with Jesus all the while, and they still ended up in a mortal danger in a ship in a storm at night.  It was not because they strayed... but it is simply because life is dangerous, and Jesus does not promise to keep us safe from every peril.  Jesus promises us that we will prevail over death in the end, but there will likely be suffering along the way, and there will be dark nights where it looks like life will not win out.  Easter was days after Good Friday.  From the very beginning, the church has had its share of tragedy, but we continue to believe that Jesus triumphs and that because of his triumph, we, too, will triumph.  

  What matters is what we believe about the last question asked here.  Who then is this?  It's a very similar question that Saul asks on the road to Damascus when he sees a light shining.  "Who are you, Lord?"  We should all ask the question... who is this man called Jesus?  What do we believe about his identity and his historical reality?  The answer to that question reverberates through eternity.  It's the most important question we can ask in this life, and we ought not to neglect seeking the answer.  Who are you, Jesus?  How we answer that shapes everything -- if he is who he says that he is, then that would have implications on how we spend our time, our money, and all of our resources.  If we believe that the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, has come to express his love for us, and the importance of loving one another, then we should think seriously on that every day.  It's far more important than some of the other things I contemplate every day.  Who are you, Jesus?  And how does that shape who I believe that I am?

Luke 8:19–21

Luke 8:19-21 

English Standard Version 

  As a parent, I hear this response of Jesus and I wonder how Jesus' mother and brothers responded -- were they hurt?  I don't believe that Jesus intended his remark as a rebuke... I think it is meant as an expansion.  Family has an intimacy with it -- a unique relationship unlike any other, where one is known completely and fully, in ways often not imitated or repeatable.  And here is Jesus, saying that he can be known intimately, fully, by anyone who hears his teachings and follows them.  He's offering the fullness of the knowledge of God to anyone, removing barriers that would keep many from God.  

  What a gift.  I keep going back to Paul's words in Ephesians 2... God is rich in kindness and mercy and loves us greatly with such a great love.  We are welcomed into the family, given equal rights because of what Christ has done.  You and I, family to the most perfect man that has ever lived, and the doors to eternal life are thrown open because he loves you like only family can love you.  You are fully known and fully loved.

Luke 8:16–18

Luke 8:16-18 

English Standard Version 

  Our faith is not meant to be separated from the rest of our lives.  If you cover your lamp with a basket, you could have 12 different lamps, each covered with a separate basket, and no one would know.  You could pick a different lamp each day and set it on the stand to guide you that day.  

  That's not how faith is meant to be.  It should be the principal light by which we see -- the light by which all of life is understood.  This is why Jesus tells us to take care how we hear.  We should listen with active hearts and minds, expecting to hear guidance from God on how we should live, on how we should interact.  The Word of God is something that should be poured into our lives daily, and we should receive it eagerly, as one who is hungry and given nourishment to sustain us through the day.  When we attend to God's Word with focus and consistency, we learn what God has to say to us, where God is calling us, and how God is sending us.

Call to Confession

Luke 8:9–15

Luke 8:9-15 

English Standard Version 

  This passage is a reminder to all of us:  faith is not supposed to be easy.  We often buy the idea that faith should be easier, and that we're messing up somewhere along the way.  The reality is that faith is hard, and Jesus never portrayed it as something easy.  The world is aligned against us -- we have so many competing priorities, so many other things that cry out for our attention, many of them seeming more urgent than faith.

  And yet, Jesus says -- hold fast.  Hold fast in an honest and good heart, and be patient, and fruit comes.  If you plant an apple tree, you don't walk outside the next day and expect apples.  It takes time.  When you plant tomatoes, you don't hope for homemade salsa the next week.  It takes time.  In the same way, when we follow Christ, it takes years and decades for the Holy Spirit to root in our hearts and for fruit to be displayed to the world.  Hold fast, Christ says, and trust in God with patience in our hearts.  Do not give up.  

Sermon on Ephesians 2:1-10 (February 1, 2026)

Luke 8:4–8

Luke 8:4-8 

English Standard Version 

  Do you ever wonder how many different sermons have been preached on some of the more famous passages of Scripture?  For 2,000 years, the church universal has been teaching on the same passages.  There must be millions of sermons on some of these readings!

  When I read this passage, I used to get caught up in trying to decide what type of soil I was, and how I could do a better job of being the right soil.  And I still believe that we ought to do whatever we can in our power to be more receptive to the Word of God.  May the Word fall into our hearts and take root, transforming the way we live and the way we see the world.

  May we also read this passage and be amazed at the abundant love of the sower.  I was watching a show about farming where they talked about the cost of seed -- so the farmer wants to be careful about where the seed is used to ensure value is received the cost of the seed.

  Here, the sower throws seed everywhere.  Seed falls among the thorns and on the path as well as in the good soil, and it says a lot about the way that the sower is willing to put the seed in lots of places in hopes that it will be received.  God sends the Word out, and doesn't strictly reserve the Word for certain places -- the hope is that the Word will find every corner of the world, and that everyone would hear the Good News of the Gospel.  That is the kind of sower we worship -- one who reaches out to every human heart.