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Turn, and Live (Acts 2:14, 36-41)

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There is so much contained in Acts 2:14, 36-41 . People hearing Peter’s words are “cut to the heart” and want to know what they must do. They are told to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. But what does it mean to repent? The word metanoia (μετάνοια) is usually translated as repentance. Some translations use the expression “change of heart and life” (e.g. Common English Bible) and others include the expression “a change of mind.” When we hear the word repent, we tend to think about a feeling of remorse, but it must be more than that. Repentance is indeed a change of mind, heart, and life. Is is a “turning back to God event.” Scriptures speak of the need for the “fruit of repentance.” In other words, true repentance is evidenced by a change of mind, heart, and life, that demonstrates a desire to live a life pleasing to God and is expressed in tangible evidence of loving God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Peter’s answ...
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Remember How Far You’ve Come (Isaiah 51:1-3)

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Sometimes it helps to remember where we’ve come from. Think for a moment of the family you were born into (or the family that took you in). Where did you grow up? Did your family stay rooted in the same place or did you move around much? What schools did you attend? Who were your friends? Did you grow up in a church? How have all these things influenced who you are today? As we are told during our Baptismal Renewal services: Remember who you are. Isaiah speaks to people who have forgotten their own holy beginnings ( Isaiah 51:1-3 ). “Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug” (v. 1). God reminds Israel to remember their roots, not in power or abundance, but in the small, faithful beginnings of Abraham and Sarah, who trusted in God’s promise when everything looked impossible. From one man and woman came a multitude, and from their faith came blessing upon blessing. God’s r...
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A New Life (Sermon for Easter 2, April 12, 2026)

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In this sermon titled “A New Life,” I explore how the risen Christ meets us in our most fearful and isolated spaces , just as he did with the disciples on that first Easter evening. We often find ourselves huddled behind locked doors due to psychological paralysis or the weight of a world that has fallen apart, but the miracle of the resurrection is that Christ does not wait for the air to clear before he enters the room. This message highlights the “new birth” as a radical, internal reconstruction of the soul rather than a mere behavioral “patch job,” anchoring us in a “living hope” that persists even through suffering. Grounded in the Wesleyan truth of prevenient grace , we see that God always moves first, taking the initiative to breathe his Spirit into our wreckage and transform us into a forgiven community. Ultimately, I want to emphasize that this new life is not about the exhaustion of trying harder, but about trusting in the divine promise of the one who has already conquer...
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A Graceful Boldness (Acts 2:14a, 22-32)

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Since my retirement from full-time ministry, I have been doing about one wedding a year. One thing that is common to all weddings is the celebration of a new connection. People, friends and family, gather to celebrate these two people and their decision. When the wedding service ends, those gathered celebrate with joy. It is a clear, unmistakable point of entry into a brand-new shared story, rooted in love. Just like at a wedding where a new family is announced, on the day of Pentecost, Peter announced something new: the life of Jesus was for  all people. This announcement, fueled by God’s grace set off a ripple effect that we’re still feeling today. 22  “Fellow Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—  23  this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified an...
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Trusting What We Cannot See (Isaiah 55:6-9)

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Isaiah 55:6-9 6  Seek the Lord while he may be found;     call upon him while he is near; 7  let the wicked forsake their way     and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,     and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts,     nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,     so are my ways higher than your ways     and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NRSVue) Isaiah 55 was addressed to the exiles returning to a home that few had ever seen with their own eyes. They had been uprooted and forcibly relocated about 70 years earlier. God is calling out to a people who have wandered, who have grown tired. They were weary, thirsty, and hungry.  The opening of chapter 55 reads… ...
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Behind Locked Doors (John 20:19-31)

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What does a locked room mean to you? It might represent a feeling of being trapped and unable to move on. Maybe it is a desire to cocoon into a private and secure space to feel safe. Perhaps it is a way to step back from the vulnerability you feel closing in. I can say that I have experienced all of these and more. I imagine the disciples were locked in that room for different reasons. Fear? Reflection? Control? Yes, and more. I am struck by the fact that they have all come together in one place. After Jesus was arrested, they scattered. Mark 14:50 tells us that “All of them deserted him and fled.” But now they have come to huddle together. John 20:19-31 models a church that is both vulnerable and brave together. It is a community where Christ comes into our locked places, breathes the Spirit, forgives, and sends us out to embody peace. The Gospel tells us, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). He does not wait for the doors to be opened. He...
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A Living Hope (1 Peter 1:3‑9)

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Jo Anne and I like to visit some of our favorite places in the mountains. We are especially fond of Blowing Rock and Boone. Some mornings feel like resurrection mornings. The air is cool, the light is soft, and everything seems to shimmer with possibility. You step outside and notice how the world feels new again, everything touched by grace. That’s what I see in our text today. 1 Peter 1:3-9 begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  Easter presents us a way of living in the world with hope that breathes. Peter’s words were written to people who were struggling, perhaps newly baptized Christians, trying to hold onto faith in hard times. He reminds them that their hope isn’t fragile or fleeting. It’s  living because it’s rooted in the risen Christ. This hope doesn’t deny pain; it transforms it. It’s the kind of hope that can walk ...
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