Category Archives: On the way to Sunday’s sermon

Moses’ Caitlyn Jenner Moment

Posted on June 4, 2015 by PaulVK

A Judgment Against Moses Numbers 20:1–13 (NET) 1 Then the entire community of Israel entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. 2 And there was no … Continue reading →

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Not Slaves to Our Passions, Not Slaves to the Law, But Children of God

Posted on May 28, 2015 by PaulVK

The Culture War as Competing Visions of “The Good” In the most contested battlegrounds of today’s culture war both sides imagine themselves occupying the moral high ground and the other is morally deficient. Where they differ is where they imagine … Continue reading →

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Pentecost is more than the Holy Spirit Fixing Something in my Little Life

Posted on May 22, 2015 by PaulVK

Imagining Pentecost It’s common to rehearse the Acts 2 story of Pentecost on Pentecost Sunday. We imagine the disciples gathered in the upper room praying when a wind unexpectedly blows through igniting tongues of fire on their heads and allowing … Continue reading →

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Why the Golden Rule is both Dysfunctional Tyranny and Invitation to Joy

Posted on May 8, 2015 by PaulVK

Presenting at the Art Institute Every few months a friend of mine invites me to present Christianity in his class “Myth, Ritual and Magic” at the Art Institute of Sacramento. I love presenting in that context. The classes are filled … Continue reading →

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Do Failure and Suffering Undermine Your Simple Religiosity or Belief in Our Political Systems to Give You What You Want?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by PaulVK

What is God for?  If you start with this question you are starting from below. To me the results of Christian Smith’s survey of American youth continues to hold true. If Americans have a religion then it is shaped along … Continue reading →

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Will David Brooks Lay Down His Life for his Readers?

Posted on April 24, 2015 by PaulVK

Being without Story Nearly every ancient civilization had creation stories. These stories weren’t usually so interested in where the “stuff” around us came from, they were usually more interested in “what is it for”. The creation story of the Hebrews … Continue reading →

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Wouldn’t the Resurrection of Jesus have been a great time for Him to drop that offensive immoral Old Testament?

Posted on April 17, 2015 by PaulVK

Resurrection After my last three sermons one of the church members mentioned an ABC TV show entitled “Resurrection” where people in this small town return to life sometimes years later and how that impacted their relational networks. I decided to watch … Continue reading →

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Why should the life, death, and even possible resurrection of one man 2000 years ago matter to my life today?

Posted on April 10, 2015 by PaulVK

Why should the life, death, and even possible resurrection of one man 2000 years ago matter to my life today?  This is a very good question, one I hear asked explicitly by some but implicitly by far more. Last week … Continue reading →

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Love, the Easter Bunny, and why you should take your inner Elephant to Church Regularly to learn to believe in the Resurrection

Posted on April 2, 2015 by PaulVK

Just In Time for Easter Usually this time of year the news market likes to get our attention by recycling some old story about Jesus and the resurrection. One year the Discovery Channel with James Cameron, director of the movie Titanic … Continue reading →

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Warning Note to Culture Warriors and Nationalists. Jesus says and does stuff that make all sides want to kill him.

Posted on March 25, 2015 by PaulVK

Imagine you heard of a man who had raised someone from the dead. Imagine you could find proof of it in the man he raised. What would you do?  John 12:9–11 (NET) 9 Now a large crowd of Judeans learned … Continue reading →

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