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Entries Tagged as 'theology'

an anatomy of sin

March 14th, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

For the fourth Sunday of Lent I preached about sin. The assigned lectionary passage was the story of the “prodigal son” from Luke 15. Here’s a part from the middle of it:
That’s what guilt does to us. It’s a voice that convinces us that no one will ever love us again because of what we [...]

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Tags: sermons

Ervin Stutzman Installation Message

March 8th, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

This past Sunday I preached one of the sermons for the installation service for Ervin Stutzman, the new Executive Director of Mennonite Church USA. The worship planners tasked me to preach on the imagery of fruit in John 15:1-5John 15:1-5English: Contemporary English Version (1999) – CEVJesus Is the True Vine

15

1 Jesus said to [...]

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Tags: sermons

Escapes: sermon for Lent

March 1st, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

Yesterday I preached a sermon for the second Sunday of Lent. A bit of it is posted below:
We are restless—in a constant frenzy of innovation, always on the move, reaching beyond our limits, our desires are never satisfied. In their Manifesto, Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels prophesied an age of “everlasting uncertainty and agitation.” We [...]

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Tags: sermons

Lenten Prayer

February 22nd, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

Lenten Prayer

Lord God, today is the first Sunday of Lent, a season of repentance, of self-examination, of silence and waiting for the leading of your Holy Spirit. Through your Spirit you lead us into the temptations of Jesus, forty days in the wilderness, where our lives are laid bare, and we come face to face [...]

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Tags: prayers

Wurstessen: a sermon for Ash Wednesday

February 18th, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

An Anabaptist-Mennonite Ash Wednesday sermon

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Tags: sermons

Freedom for what?

February 15th, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

My sermon this past Sunday focused on Christian freedom: what does it mean to be free? I preached on 2 Corinthians 3:172 Corinthians 3:17English: Contemporary English Version (1999) – CEV17 The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord’s Spirit sets us free.WP-Bible plugin: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of [...]

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Tags: sermons

Book review: Nation and Grimsrud

February 2nd, 2010 by isaac · 1 Comment

I’ve had a number of people email me and ask for the unedited version of my review of Ted Grimsrud and Mark Thiessen Nation: Reasoning Together. In an earlier post I had asked people to email me if they wanted me to read the full book review instead of the shortened one that appeared in [...]

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Tags: reading corner

The weakest member

January 24th, 2010 by isaac · No Comments

This past Sunday I preached on Paul’s stuff on human genitalia in I Cor. 12:22. Here’s an excerpt:
Paul uses human anatomy to make a basic point about the corporate body of the church. Every part is necessary; without eyes or feet, the body cannot function as it is created to function. Every part, every member, [...]

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Tags: sermons

a material Spirit

January 13th, 2010 by isaac · 2 Comments

Well, for what it’s worth, I preached my first sermon of 2010. It’s a meditation on two letters I received on the same day—one from a dude who wanted me to give him money so he can make my prayers come true, and another from a family who used to worship at our church. Here’s [...]

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Tags: sermons

Christmas meditations

December 30th, 2009 by isaac · No Comments

Instead of preaching a single sermon, I gave three brief meditations throughout our worship service. Joel Miller gave me the idea a few weeks ago. I think it worked out pretty well. Below is an excerpt from one of the meditations. For the full text of all three, follow this link to my church website: [...]

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Tags: sermons