Do you really hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Sometimes, perhaps most times, I am not sure. That’s where the Beatitudes hit me this week.

Many of you know that early on in Sermon Brainwave history, I became known as the geography maven. I am the one who usually points out in a passage a geographical …

“It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.” I have always been curious about this detail, but have never quite known what to do with it. I …

Preaching on the baptism of Jesus requires a significant amount of homiletical restraint. Our denominational desires tend to lean toward sermons that try …

Happy New Year, Dear Working Preachers.

From different kinds of correspondence with many of you -- emails, Facebook, being together at conferences -- 2016 …

Merry Christmas, Dear Working Preachers.

I hope you will be forgiving of a rather personal perspective on Christmas for this week’s column. Yet, …

“God with us” is not always good news. It depends on who you think God is. It depends on how you think God is active in the world. It depends …

"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" If that isn’t a question that breaks your heart ... or maybe, it speaks a truth, …

“In the wilderness” -- a potentially overlooked setting for the prophetic tidings of our dear friend John the Baptist. We are usually eager …

I love it when Scripture points out the ambiguity of God’s judgment -- a rather helpful reminder these days. There is nothing to distinguish or determine …

Concentrating on the crucifixion for Christ the King Sunday is a confluence of some rather puzzling and disturbing truths -- especially in the wake of the …

Reading Jesus’ words knowing that they could be the basis of a sermon the Sunday after Election Day in the United States gives me pause. The results …

We tend to ask the wrong questions about the resurrection -- case in point, the inquiry of the Sadducees. Of course, their engagement with Jesus is to challenge …

“Today salvation has come to this house.” Mic drop.

But, of course, not everyone is happy when salvation shows up. Good news for some is not …

“God, I thank you that I am not like other people. Really, thank you, God.”

Wow, does this passage ever convict! And if we are not found guilty …