Santa Monica Nazarene Church

In this sermon we talk about how the future of God was always meant for the eunuch even when for a thousand years it wasn’t.

In this sermon we consider what a loud concert taught me about (not) hearing God, how God meets us when there is no way, and what it means to be the Good Church of the Good Shepherd.

In this sermon we look at a moment where the disciples encounter the post-resurrection Jesus and we consider what it means to be aware of God’s presence in the room (thank you Nadia Bolz-Weber).

In this sermon we watch a guy iron a shirt and talk about the saints (Monica, Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Joan of the Cross).

In this sermon on Easter Sunday we turn to the resurrection of Jesus as Mark’s gospel tells it. We embrace the strangeness of Mark’s version and, with a little help again from The Shawshank Redemption, we hear the good news that Jesus is out there calling us into a future not foreclosed by death but made possible through his rising from the dead.

In this sermon on Good Friday we riff on a song lyric as way to grasp the heart of God on display in the death of Jesus. “I should’ve told you I could live without you, but I don’t want to.”

In this sermon we look at the story about Jesus cleansing the temple. We walk briskly through a history of the temple, into how it changed with Jesus, and then what it has to do with us and the cleansing of our own lives. 

In this sermon we look at a moment in Jesus’ ministry as establishing something crucial about his work of salvation and who we are called to be as people, which is to serve.

In this sermon we return again to John the Baptist, however we focus on what it means for John (and for us) to point to Jesus. Touring through the lectionary passages for the day, we find that pointing to Jesus means imitating him.

In this sermon we join John the baptist “on the frontier as the ages collide” asking once again what it means to prepare the way for the Lord. We look at the opening lines of Mark’s gospel, what I’ve been learning about cooking, and a question.

In this sermon we begin the season of Advent (a week early, we know) by considering what kinds of holy disruptions the Spirit is eager to work in our lives.

In this sermon we proclaim that Christ reigns over all creation and we consider what it means to order our days in light of this good news.

In this sermon we wrap up our time with the Psalms by looking at the theme of creation. We remember that the creation is a thin place where we encounter the presence of God in a unique way. Namely, because we are around things that are not struggling to be anything other than what they are.

In this sermon we talk about sadness in the Psalms, how our culture downplays sadness, how sadness is a part of the gospel, and a cellist that played a sad song in a war zone, all while considering a Psalm that is sadness all the way down. You'll love it, I promise.

In this sermon we talk about the Psalms as poetry and how, as such, they teach us how to notice the world around in order to better attend to it with love.

In this sermon we look at the Psalms as they relate to prayer. We talk about the word ‘prayer,’ who taught us to pray, what it means to pray without ceasing, that Jesus prayed all the time, and what it means to long for God (with help from some fourth century thinkers).

In this sermon we consider what it means (and how to do it, a little) to cultivate the Psalms in our lives over time so that the story of God becomes the story of our lives. 

In this sermon we look at what the Psalms have to teach us about community. 

In this sermon we look at the honesty of the Psalms and what it means for us to learn how to tell our own story in light of the gospel.

In this sermon we begin a new series on the Psalms. We introduce what they are, that they speak to the full range of human experience, and in praying them what it means to live between memory and hope.

In this sermon we consider the word forgiveness. We look closely at forgiveness as it’s positioned in the Lord’s Prayer, noting it’s connection to our asking for daily bread and God’s desire to give such bread and forgiveness to us. We reflect on the power of the Amish community to forgive a violent attacker and what it means to be those kinds of people.

In this sermon we look at what faith, hope, and love mean for our discipleship.

In this sermon we consider what it means to confess that God is Trinity. Our goal is not to explain the mystery of the Trinity, but rather what this confession means. We look a little bit at the history on why there arose a need to clarify the Triune nature of God, which we read in the Nicene Creed. However, we mostly consider what it means to confess that God is Father, Son, and Spirit; what that means for salvation; and what it has to do with saying God is love.

In this sermon we talk about the giving of the Holy Spirit and what it has to do with being a people of peace.

In this sermon consider what the ascension of Jesus means in terms of worship. What the worship gathering is, why we do it, and how it relates to the rest of our lives.

In this sermon we consider how Jesus’ words about God as our advocate and never leaving us orphaned speaks to a culture of loneliness.

In this sermon we look at an important story in Acts about a time when God’s people had to discern past experiences in light of present circumstances.

In this sermon Tim Olson takes us into Hebrews and challenges us to allow the gospel to disrupt our lives and why that's good news.

In this sermon we focus on what it means to talk and discuss the things of faith, especially in the midst of division. We begin with Luke 24 and then turn to Acts 15 to a first century example of discerning the way forward when it's different from the past. 

In this sermon we talk about the Christian understanding of hope in terms of God’s movement towards the poor, marginalized, and oppressed as the way in which God moves for all things. 

In this sermon we focus on the resurrection of Jesus in John’s gospel, what it means to recognize God in this surprising but consistent way, and all the things that happen in the garden.

In this sermon we look at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We focus on our expectations of who Jesus is, considering that God reveals who God is on God’s own terms not ours.

In this sermon we look at the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We talk about empathy versus sympathy, how a zombie story helps us understand the Lazarus story, and an ancient poem by a guy named Simeon about waking up in Christ’s body.

In this sermon consider the story of man born blind but healed by Jesus, of what it means to see (with the help of a Bob Dylan song).

In this sermon we look at the famous conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, what it means to be pushed to the edges and why its necessary for growth, consider how the gospel can be misconstrued, talk about the phrase ‘born again’, what it means of Jesus to be ‘lifted up’, and mold.

In this sermon we consider Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, it’s connection to Israel’s story in wilderness after the exodus, a place called glass beach, and some challenging questions from Frederich Buechner.

In this sermon we reflect on Ash Wednesday, what it means to wear the ashes, a story about a father living in the hallways of joy and sadness, a film called Collateral Beauty, A song about useless beauty, a scene from Ted Lasso, what it means to give/pray/fast, and loving in the time that we have (thanks Iron and Wine).

In this sermon we look at the transfiguration of Jesus, the different expressions of light throughout the church year, Peter’s response and the various ways to interpret it, and Asbury University and the question of what it means to be in the presence of God.

In this sermon we look at the story about Jesus at the wedding in Cana. We consider what weddings were like back then, that there was a whole year of preparation leading up to this moment, and we consider the action of filling and pouring as first and second half of life matters (thank you Richard Rohr).

In this sermon we look at what discipleship meant in the first century Jewish context and consider what it might mean to be called to follow Jesus. Hint: calling begins with listening to God speak to you.

In this sermon we consider Jesus’ question to the disciples, “what are you looking for?” with a little help from U2, Clarence Jordan, and a personal experience.

In this sermon we look at the story of Jesus’ baptism, what it has to do with the season of Epiphany, and a string of connection about what it means to come up out of the waters towards the New Creation God is bringing about in Jesus. And some help, again, from Flannery O’Connor.

In this sermon we consider the story of the Magi and what it means to pay attention to the divine in both ordinary and extraordinary ways.

In this sermon we enter into the nativity scene through the eyes of the family Herdman in order to see anew the story of Jesus’ birth.

In this sermon we look at the story of Joseph receiving news about Mary being pregnant and we consider through it what it means to confess that God is with us in the significant and insignificant things of life.

In this sermon Kevin Portillo takes into Isaiah to talk about joy and being brought home to God.

In this sermon we look the person of John the Baptist, what it means to expect him while being surprised by him, what it means to be called into the wilderness (on purpose), how what edges and tree rings have to teach us.

In this sermon we consider the season of Advent and what it means to live in light of the first and second coming of Jesus.

In this sermon we consider the importance of how we tell time and what it means for Christ to reign over our days.

In this sermon we conclude our look at the Sermon on the Mount. We talk about the metaphors Jesus ends with as an invitation to switch stories, to find our role within the story of God.

In this sermon we consider Jesus’ teaching about specks and logs in eyes, pearls before pigs, and what it means to ask, seek, and knock. We do this with the help of David Foster Wallace and his parable about fish. We consider what it means to become people capable of paying attention to what is often hidden just beneath the surface of our ordinary lives. This is to become compassionate people, people who want goodness for others.

In this sermon we talk about nature (birds, lilies, trees) as thin places where we sense God’s presence, a place where the veil between heaven and earth seems a little more see through and God a little more present. We consider what Wendell Berry’s reflection on trees has to teach us in this, and how a quote from a poet helped me understand why God seems more present in nature. We close with a reflection from the desert fathers and mothers (and the movie Contact) about what it means to detach from the world for the sake of better embracing it.

In this sermon we consider the connection between our inner and outer lives through Jesus’ teaching about giving, praying, and fasting. We consider what it means first to desire God, how to cultivate a desire for God, and how that flows out in our actions.

In this sermon we consider what it means for Jesus to fulfill the law and how he calls us to live in light of the end that God is makes possible in him.

In this sermon we look at Jesus’ teaching about being salt and light. We connect it to the Old Testament prophets who called God’s people to embody justice. And we have some fun doing this through the lamed-vavniks of the Jewish mystical tradition and a comedy bit about green eggs and ham.

In this sermon, Greg Ehlert walks us through the beatitudes and what it means to follow Jesus in light of them.

In this sermon consider Wendell Berry’s poem, The Farm, as a metaphor for the soul, looking particularly at what it means to tend to the soil of our lives.

In this sermon we consider our very divisive culture and what it means to love your neighbor.

In this sermon we look at a concept present in the Scriptures that has to abiding, vigilance, a fixed point, holding fast, praying without ceasing; or as Psalm 1 puts it, being like a tree planted by streams of water. It has to do with staying put and letting the transformative work of God happen, even when you can’t see it happening.

In this sermon look at the idea of blessing in the bible. We consider what it means to want the fullness of life for others.

In this sermon we reflect on Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath and why it was the absolutely most appropriate thing to do. 

In this sermon Nick Clarke invites us to remember. We are called to remember God, but also one another. He singles in on this recent pandemic season and the way so many people have felt lonely and disconnected as we come out of it. He urges us to remember our neighbor and the need we all have for connection.

In this sermon Kevin Portillo reflects on the book of Ephesians, practicing who you want to be in the future, and one time when he trained to climb a mountain.

In this sermon we consider what Paul means in his famous passage that Christ is before all things and in him all things hold together. With the help of Bonhoeffer, Yeats, a film called Gravity, and the James Webb Space telescope, we explore the modern predicament and how creation was meant to draw us into the life of God.

In this sermon we look through the lens of Ecclesiastes at the finiteness of all things in relation to the infinite and absolute reality of God, and we consider what it means to pray without the author of Psalm 139, that even in our finitude God is close and cares.

In this sermon we look at the controversy over Jesus saying that he is the bread of life. We consider his refusal of being a transactional, Santa Claus Messiah who gives us whatever we want in exchange for our devotion. We ask whether we are only reaching for the ‘bios’ kind of life, or beyond to the more fuller ‘zoe’ life. 

In this sermon we are called to lament after another mass shooting in the United States, this one taking place in Uvalde, Texas. We read this shooting through the lens of the ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is, as David Benjamin Blower says, an effort to drag our burdens through the street so that our hearts might break and things would change.

In this sermon we look at story about how deeply embedded the gospel moves in the particulars of the social world in which we live. We consider that the work of the Spirit is a disruptive liberation so that we might embrace the way of Jesus. We look at what it means to respond to the gospel, which is to embody a spirit of hospitality, of showing regard for the care of others.

In this sermon we go back to the first century in order to talk about worship. We look at what the early church did and how it shaped them to be witnesses of Jesus.

In this sermon we go back into the ministry of Jesus and read it anew in light of his death and resurrection. We look at what it means to line up behind someone with substance rather than the fleeting heroes and legends we’re so tempted to put our hopes in.

In this sermon we go back to those first Sunday nights when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room. We consider what it means that Jesus is forming a community in that moment of scared and scarred people and that the gospel is made known when we show our wounds.

In this sermon we go back to the basics, back to those first moments of an empty tomb and Jesus appearing to some of the disciples, of how the resurrection changes everything, of what it means to recognize him in the breaking of bread and how every time we break bread we re-member him in our bodies and imitate him in our lives.

In this sermon we explore a dissonance that is at the heart of Christianity, the contrast between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Jesus’ triumphal entry prepares us for the most illogical of things, God on a cross. In this we find peace and hope that wherever the rocks are crying out, God is there. 

In this sermon we consider the story of Mary anointing Jesus with perfume. We read it through the lens of a man Vedran Smajlović who played music for twenty two days in a row at the exact spot where a mortar shell killed as many people, one day for each person. We consider how things like music and Mary’s offering are haunting and beautiful things that expose the death of Jesus to come, as well as points to hope that in Christ death is not the end. 

In this sermon we consider what it means to live faithfully in the midst of the headlines. We consider a couple of headlines from Jesus’ day, what it means to ask big cosmic questions, and the faithfulness of the Ukrainian church right now. 

In this sermon we follow Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted. We consider what it means to come to the end of yourself (and what you might find when you get there), The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the dangerous grace of mirrors.

In this sermon (on Zoom) we look at the themes of Ash Wednesday from Matthew’s gospel, which is pray, fast, and give; and what it means to wear the ashes as a resistance against death’s reign.

In this sermon we look at the story of the magi through a poem by T.S. Elliot called “Journey of the Magi”. Elliot reflects on the magi as a metaphor for the journey that we all must go on in order to experience Christ. We consider what it means to die to Herod’s world in order to be reborn in light of Christ. We see Epiphany as summarized in the line that we are “but no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation."

In this sermon guest speaker Andrew Soria takes us into Acts 1 and to this notion that part of what Epiphany means is that God's holiness has been revealed and what that means for us as the church. 

In this sermon we linger in the season of Christmas in order to ponder what it means to confess, with the help of an ancient creed that we actually read word for word, that God is revealed in Christ, humanity and divinity together.

In this Christmas Eve sermon (recorded on Zoom) we talk about how God intrudes far away from the typical centers of power and about how, likely, it wasn’t a silent night (because babies and animals), but that it’s still right to sing about the calming peace of God in Christ.

In this sermon we look Mary; her powerful son of revolution; and how bring down the mighty and lifting up the lowly is not a reversal of power positions, but a bringing together of that which has been separated and a breaking of the system that makes such power over others possible in the first place. 

In this sermon we look at the witness of John the Baptist; the importance of his location in the wilderness where he called people to transformation; and his practical advice about how to live in the midst of broken systems and how at every moment, even in our flawed efforts, we point to Christ.

In this sermon we talk about how Zechariah’s song ends in a great crescendo about peace. With the help of Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we look at the power of making peace through truth-telling, forgiveness, and the long road of reconciliation.

In this sermon we return to the question of what our reference points are. What gives us our bearings, what we are looking to when everything feels like it's changing, and what we hope for for the future. 

In this sermon we look at a key refrain from the wisdom literature about fear as the beginning of wisdom. We explore the understanding of fear in terms of paying attention, both to God and to the creation. We consider how paying attention to the ordinary things of life trains us to pray. 

In this sermon we look at the story of Esther, the righteous thirty-sixers, and the ordinary moments we are given to save the world.