Sermon: "Eyes on the Prize", Acts 6:8-7:2a; 7:44-60 (May 4, 2025)

Let’s be honest – this is a pretty disturbing story. Up until this point, Acts has largely been a celebration of the Holy Spirit’s movement among the people, giving us joyful tales of miraculous healings, communal living, and exponential growth. Sure, the disciples were harassed here and there, but they always seemed to come out okay in the end. This, though – this is dark. There’s no “happy ending” for Stephen, even though he’s consistently described as righteous. Amid all the recorded successes of the early Christian movement, this story is a bleak reminder of the sinful reality of the human condition.

Sermon: "The Space Between", John 20-21 (April 20, 2025 - Easter Sunday)

I’m gonna need a little bit of help with the first part of my sermon today, so if I spoke to you earlier about helping, would you please come up and gather around the table now?

As my helpers are making their way forward, I want to offer a little bit of context for those of you who may not have been following Boone’s Lenten worship very closely. Over the past six weeks, we’ve been reflecting on divisions within humanity, both as found in John’s gospel and as reflected in our own lives. To drive the point home, we used different colored beads – the beads up front here – to “vote” on some of the most divisive issues of our times: Summer or winter? Dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? These particular divisions are, of course, more or less superficial, but they remind us of the many ways that we categorize and separate ourselves out from one another. That’s how the whole world would be if human beings were in charge.

Liturgy: Palm Sunday Lessons and Carols, John 12 (April 13, 2025)

  *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Additional Hymns:

Hymn GTG #196, “All Glory, Laud, and Honor”

Hymn GTG #456, “Listen, God Is Calling”

Hymn GTG #200, “A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd”

Liturgy: Lent 5 Lessons and Carols, John 11 (April 6, 2025)

 *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Additional Hymns:

Hymn GTG #510, “We Gather Here in Jesus’ Name”

Hymn GTG #456, “Listen, God Is Calling”

Hymn GTG #533, “In the Singing”

Liturgy: Lent 4 Lessons and Carols, John 9-10 (March 30, 2025)

   *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Additional Hymns:

Hymn GTG #459, “O Word of God Incarnate”

Hymn GTG #456, “Listen, God Is Calling”

Hymn GTG #634, “To God Be the Glory”

Liturgy: Lent 3 Lessons and Carols, John 7-8 (March 23, 2025)

   *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Additional Hymns:

Hymn GTG #802, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”

Hymn GTG #456, “Listen, God Is Calling”

Hymn GTG #158, “Born in the Night, Mary's Child”

Liturgy: Lent 2 Lessons and Carols, John 5-6 (March 16, 2025)

  *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Additional Hymns:

Hymn GTG #395, “Blessed Jesus, at Your Word”

Hymn GTG #456, “Listen, God Is Calling”

Hymn GTG #460, “Break Thou the Bread of Life”