(Philippians 1:21-30) Effective altruism (EA) “is a project that aims to find the best ways to help others and put them into practice.” It’s not really an organization you give money to. It doesn’t have a catchy name like Bread for the World, Habitat for Humanity or Doctors Without Borders. It’s a concept that tries…
(Matthew 18:21-35) “We exist no longer than mayflies.” That’s what Su Shih, a Chinese scholar and poet, wrote in the year 1082. Maybe you have seen a mayfly, but not for long. They are insects with very short lifespans, averaging one to two days. Yet, though they have short lives, mayflies have been around forever.…
(Romans 12:9-21) You’re probably familiar with a program called “Antiques Roadshow” if you’ve spent any time watching public television. It started in England, and many of the shows are still filmed there. But they also have an American version. The premise of “Antiques Roadshow” is simple: a team of antiques experts sets up shop in…
(Exodus 1:8—2:10) You’ve probably never met a spy (that you know of), but they’re everywhere if you believe all the movies and TV shows about them. Take, for example, “She Spies,” the inspiration for today’s sermon title. Cassie McBain (played by Natasha Henstridge) is a convicted con woman, paroled from prison along with D.D. Cummings…
(Genesis 45:1-15) If you’ve ever gone on a cruise, you’ve been through a certain obligatory exercise known as “the lifeboat drill.” It usually happens on the first day. Before you’ve even learned your way around the ship, you receive instructions to go to a certain designated location on deck. There, you join a select group…
(Matthew 14:22-33) Today’s Scripture reading is from the gospel of Matthew, and for the first time, we have some defensible speculation of what might have been unique about the apostle who wrote that gospel. That’s thanks to the video series, The Chosen, which has recently released its third season on DVD. While the series presents some…
(Matthew 14:13-21) In the early 1980s, a quick-serve Chinese restaurant opened at the Glendale Galleria mall. The owners, Andrew and Peggy Cherng, called it Panda Express. A few years later, Chef Andy Kao developed their signature dish, Orange Chicken. The business began to grow. The 100th restaurant was opened in 1993. The 1,000th in 2007. Today, they…
(Isaiah 55:10-13) If you know anything about the U.S. Marine Corps, you know that they can be found “from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.” According to the Marines’ Hymn, they fight “in ev’ry clime and place,” all around the world. The Marine Corps is an “expeditionary armed force.” This means that…
(Romans 7:15-25a) Some people you just don’t want to run into. But it happens, inadvertently of course! Maybe it’s the pompous neighbor down the street, an old “friend” from college, or your nemesis in the lunchroom. You dodge, duck, turn around and walk away faster than a scalded cat. You’ll get something from the vending…
