Category Archives: On the way to Sunday’s sermon

How Our Implicit Big Rock Candy Mountain God is undone by Jesus’ Baptism

Posted on January 9, 2015 by PaulVK

When God Fails to Satisfy Our Idealistic Expectations “I just can’t believe the Bible is anything special when it is so filled with violence, outdated commands and factual inconsistencies.” “If God were real, good and really cared about us he’d … Continue reading →

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A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Challenge of Religious Pluralism

Posted on December 26, 2014 by PaulVK

A Mid-Century Modern Christmas On December 9, 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on CBS for the first time. I was two at the time and probably didn’t catch the first airing but it became for me, and many in … Continue reading →

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Twas the Sunday After Christmas and all through the House of Representatives…

Posted on December 25, 2014 by PaulVK

No, I don’t mean Jesus, I mean the 2016 elections.  Yes, it’s Christmas Eve, and November 2016 seems a long ways away, but it isn’t. While Obama is a lame Christmas duck, especially thanks to the midterm elections, those eager … Continue reading →

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The Pax Bethlemitica

Posted on December 23, 2014 by PaulVK

Submitting to the Imperial Yoke Chapter 2 begins with Luke telling us how imperial subject (not citizen) Joseph submits to the demand of the emperor. Augustus, from his throne in Rome has issued a degree, a degree that filters down to … Continue reading →

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Is Christ’s Virgin Birth A Pagan Knock-off? Does God Have A Taste For Young Girls?

Posted on December 19, 2014 by PaulVK

Using Young Women Throughout history men with power have used young women to get what they want. This fact has made all the allegations against Bill Cosby easily believable. They also made allegations against Bill Clinton believable along with how … Continue reading →

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Why We Trust in Torture and the Advent of the Ironic Tortured Emperor

Posted on December 12, 2014 by PaulVK

A Conversation I Very Much Want to Avoid If last week I said a conversation on racism wasn’t nearly enough. This week I face the fact that a conversation about torture is something I want to avoid. Last week I had … Continue reading →

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How Ferguson’s Darren Wilson Reveals Our Great Advent Need: To save us from the sin between us, Jesus must save us from the sin within us

Posted on December 5, 2014 by PaulVK

“We need to have a conversation about race” In the wake of Ferguson and now Eric Garner I am hearing this a lot. Cornell West says “To engage in a serious discussion of race in America, we must begin not with the … Continue reading →

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“If only you would tear apart the sky and come down!” Advent 1

Posted on November 25, 2014 by PaulVK

What Kind of Friend is God? I believe it was Philip Yancey who observed that if God is my friend then he’s always the kind of friend that I imagine myself as wanting to be. If I imagine that I … Continue reading →

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Why Bless A Dying Generation

Posted on November 21, 2014 by PaulVK

Putting the Name on Them Almost every Sunday I end the worship service with the same words. Numbers 6:24–26 (NIV) 24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious … Continue reading →

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The Grace of Leviticus 27 for Foolish, Desperate God Bargainers

Posted on November 14, 2014 by PaulVK

When I told a member of the church what I was preaching on this week she immediately thought of a scene in a Burt Reynold’s movie from 1978 called “The End”. With the help of Google I discovered that this … Continue reading →

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