Author: Chris Landon

  • Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

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    As Christians we live with an inherent tension, it is a tension that is the result of our eschatology. What we believe about what happens when Christ returns shapes how we live now. We refer to this as the already and not yet kingdom of God. The starting point is actually at the end. We…

  • Leadership & Idolizing

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    A few weeks ago I preached about Samuel and the people’s request for a king in 1 Samuel 8. The main point of that sermon was that the failure of the people allowed for reflection by the later generations so that they could learn from those mistakes. In the same way, we can reflect on…

  • Third Sunday After Pentecost: Failure as Opportunity

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    1 Samuel 8 is a turning point in the history of Israel and also a train wreck of failure. This chapter fundamentally changes the nation of Israel, they go from a gathering of tribes with a version of a theocracy lead by divinely appointed judges to a monarchy. This changes not only the leadership structure…

  • Pentecost: The Valley of Dry Bones

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    The vision of the valley of dry bones is probably the most well known passage in Ezekiel, and like the rest of Ezekiel it is wild. Not as wild as him shaving his head with a sword, ch. 3, but still real wild. There are so many great things that we can see in the…

  • Fifth Sunday of Easter

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    I feel that we often come back to music in the sermon. Last month I preached and talked about how punk gave me a lens to understand the world. And then last week Traci, who wasn’t here when I preached, talked about punk and how music helped express what she was feeling. But here we…

  • Second Sunday of Easter

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    Before we get to the main theme for this morning I want to address the Gospel reading briefly. The story that is told is about Jesus appearing to the disciples following his resurrection, specifically when he appeared to Thomas following his expressions of doubt. Thomas has become known as “Doubting Thomas.” Not exactly the most…

  • Does the Old Testament Matter?

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    Does the Old Testament even matter anymore? Naturally, the immediate response is, “yes, of course!” Intellectually there is no question that the Old Testament still matters, but practically is the answer the same? If we use the church as our source of perspective to answer this question, it seems that the Old Testament does not…

  • Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost: The Shema

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    Deuteronomy 6:4–9 No Old Testament topic is more likely to put a majority of a congregation to sleep faster than a sermon about “The Law.” Perhaps genealogies, but who really preaches about those? As soon as you mention the law people get this blank look, but inside they are either dreading that they did not…