Sermons
SERMON ARCHIVES
2025 Sermons
2024 Sermons
2023 Sermons
2022 Sermons
2021 Sermons
2020 Sermons
- It’s Not Christmas Without Elephants!
- Rethink Everything
- Respond Mindfully
- Reinforce Love
- Resist Fear
- Being Grateful in a Messed Up World
- Beware the Brittle Spirit
- On Not Letting Others Pull Your Strings
- No Such Thing as a cappella
- Owning our Own Story: David & Absalom
- Uncorrupted Consciousness: David & Bathsheba
- A Bit of Grit: David & Goliath
- We Still Believe
- God Interrupted
- That Old Time Religion
- Offing Your Enemies: Helpful Hints from the Bible
- Let it Out!
- Hot Pursuit
- Don’t Look Back
- Is Savior the Right Word to Call Jesus?
- It Takes a Mensch
- What You Make It
- Into the Arms of Others
- A Tale of Two Son-of-A’s
- That Day Jesus Screwed Up
- Dangerous Freedom
- Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
- For Such A Time As This, Because The Time Is Now!
- What’s it Gonna Take?
- Peace with Justice Sunday
- Pressing Reset
- Remembering Our Way to New Life
- True Colors
- Shabbat Shalom
- Not Quickly Broken
- Where the Pot’s Not
- Ask Around
- Jesus Where You Live
- Counter Demonstration
- You’ve Got to be Kidding!
- Life is Not Out to Break Us, but to Make Us
- Answering a Question with a Question: The Roots of Empathy?
- We Put Love First #1: You Can Smell ’em Coming
- Do We Have It In Us?
- The Heart of Christianity #6: Operating Instructions
- The Heart of Christianity #5: Move Over Genesis
- The Heart of Christianity #4: Sin Boldly!
- Heart of Christianity #3: Operation “Confine the Divine!”
- The Heart of Christianity #2: Which God?
- The Heart of Christianity #1: Time for a Change
- Called By Name
- Who Speaks For God?
2019 Sermons
- What’s in a Name?
- A Christmas Prayer
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #14: Vulnerability
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart” #13: Contentment
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #12: The Gift of Gratitude
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #11: The Wisdom of Balance
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #10: Fully Alive
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #9: Cause and Effect
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #8: Should or Could?
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #7: Fact or Foolishness
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #6: Imagine a World Without Judgement
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #5: Compassion and the Need to Touch One Another
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #4: Pay Attention
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #3: The Courage Within
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart #2: The Extraordinary Possibilities Borne of Hardship, Sorrow, and Loss
- Soul Food: Nourishing the Spirit and the Heart
- Freedom
- Applying It to Life
- Put on Your Armor, and Get to Work
- Keep it Real – Live Like Jesus
- Focus on Who, not What
- Do What’s Right – Be A Samaritan
- Take the Call – God Wants You
- Oh, Freedom
- Encountering God in Popular Music
- Improvising Our Way in a Jazz Universe
- Goodness Gracious!
- Adventure On!
- One Step at a Time
- Marking Time
- A New Beginning
- Sabbath? Who Needs It?
- Jump In!
- Easter Cantata
- Steeple People
- Faith is not a Destination, but a Journey
- A Wild and Crazy Ride
- Working It Out
- The Fifth Gospel
- A Fistful of Nothing (or The Greed, the Mean, and the Spiteful)
- Love Is Love
- What Are You Doing Here?
- Science Is Real
- Words Are Not Enough
- In The Methodist Way
- Black Lives Matter
- I Believe
- Living Water
2018 Sermons
- Changing One’s Mind, Stick-to-it-iveness and the Things That Really Matter
- Light, Light and More Light
- Visions, Vagabonds and Virgins
- A Christmas Cantata
- Warnings, Weeping and Wise Men
- Hazardous Holidays
- Big on Gratitude
- Waging Wisdom
- Midsentence Correction
- Waging Wisdom
- On Notice
- Doers Is As Doers Does
- The Incontrovertible Undubiousness of Leeriness
- Rediscovering the Common Thread of Inclusion in the Jesus Stories
- Who/What exactly is ‘UBUNTU’?
- What Is Your Definition of God?
- What Do You Make of the Resurrection?
- Say What? Answers to Questions People are Asking Series #4: How does being “washed in the blood” make us “white as snow”? OR “What’s wrong with teaching about blood and guts? Like it or not – it happened!
- Innovation is Next to Godliness
- Radical Wesley #2: If it ain’t social, it ain’t holy
- Radical Wesley #1: The Way that Woos and Welcomes
- Love Courageously
- Deus Interruptus (God Interrupts)
- Say What? Answers to Questions People are Asking Series #4
- Who Said It Would Be Easy?
- Like a Petrified Marshmallow, Empathy is Harder than it Looks
- Greater Works
- God is NOT My Father
- What Exactly is Atonement?
- Say What? Answers to Questions People are Asking, Series #2
- A Call To Speak Just Might Save a Life
- What is “Progressive” About The Fountains’ Christianity?
- Lying Liars and the Lies They Lay on the Line
- Perplex a Preacher
- Gather or Scatter
- The Spiritual Life: DIY Edition!
- Can Religion be Saved in Time to Save Humanity?
- When In Doubt…
- Of Mystery, Meaning and Mountaintops
- Easter Cantata
- Dressed to the Nines
- Chill Out! Embodying Sabbath for a Healthier You and a Healthier World
- Common Roots #2
- Common Roots
- The Cross and the Panhandler
- Regretting the Avocado
- Whatever!
- Prove It!
- No Escape (The Fig Tree)
- Forget All That Fluffy Feel-Good Stuff
- No More Hallmark Jesus
2017 Sermons
- Youth Sunday–Sierra Service Project
- Christmas Eve at The Fountains
- Mary
- Anna
- Elizabeth
- The Importantest Christmas Message EVER!
- Seek Out Your Samaritans
- Opening Minds
- Open Hearts
- Leave a Legacy
- For Everything a Season
- Limited
- The Sense of a Goose
- You Are What You Eat
- United in Hope
- Acting For Justice
- Loving Like Jesus
- Sabbath
- Self-Perfection
- When The Sun Goes Dark
- Ethical Consumption
- Kindness
- Why We Are Here & The True Meaning of Life
- Loving Like Jesus
- Generosity
- Faithful Resistance
- Pay Attention
- A Few Good Men
- Musar (Inspirational Reading)
- Things I Learned From Jerry
- Repetition
- Pressing On
- Meditation
- Stuck in the Middle Again
- Re-Sourcing the Journey
- Just Do It!
- Living Beyond Our Means
- Palm Sunday Cantata
- Lead Us Not Into Temptation
- Forgive Us Our Debts
- Give Us Our Daily Bread
- Your Will Be Done
- Your Kingdom Come
- Hallowed Be Your Name
- Bring It!
- Check One…
- Our Father in Heaven
- Pray Then in This Way
- Celebrate Weakness!
- Diapers to Destiny
- Why I’m Still a Methodist
- A Jazzy New Year Celebration!
2016 Sermons
- Christmas Caroling at The Fountains
- Merry Mithmas and a Happy Sol Invictus!
- Christmas Cantata, 2016
- Are We There Yet?
- The Love Drug
- Walk Humbly
- Love Mercy
- Act Justly
- Just Say Boo!
- Mezuzah the $#!% Out of It
- VIP House Meeting Sunday
- Spiritual Imperfection
- Ear to Ear
- Common Dreams: New Directions
- Becoming More Ourselves
- Still Small Voice
- Get Up Already!
- Making Up My Mind
- Paying Attention
- You’re Mine!
- Set Your Foundation
- Don’t Panic
- Life is not out to break us, but to make us stronger
- The Two Houses
- STILL Haven’t Found It!
- Dangerous Freedom!
- All Together Now
- Life in the Commonwealth
- On Not Believing in the Bible
- Showing Up
- When Yahweh was in Egypt’s Land (Let My Egyptians Go!)
- Not an Overnight Thing
- Over The Edge
- Speculator, Spectator or Actuator
- Holy Cow
- Religion Matters
- The Greatest Story Never Read
- A Nation of Illiterates
- At Your Own Risk
- Jesus Where You Live
- God Won’t
- Re-ligio-ed
- Reality Foxes and Doomed Hens
- Jesus as Teacher, Not Savior
- Justice as Covenant, Not Control
- Evolution Sunday, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day
- Discipleship as Obedience, not Observance
- Spiritual But Not Religious?
- The Future of Faith
- The Future of Fundamentalism
- The Future of Interfaith Dialogue
- The Future of the Secular
2015 Sermons
- Youth Sunday
- Christmas Cantata 2015
- Awakens The Force Does
- Merry Thinnest!
- Giving in to the Angst Doctrine
- Alert With Thanksgiving
- Self-Sufficiency Gone Wrong
- Life-Long Learning, Compassion and Selfless Love
- Protect and Restore Our Earth
- Peace and Justice Among All People
- More Value in Questions Than Absolutes
- Why I Am The “True” Conservative Evangelical Christian
- Behavior… Fullest Expression of Belief
- Inclusive Christianity
- Diverse Sources of Wisdom
- Experiencing the Sacred, Oneness and Unity of Life
- Celebrating the Reality That People Matter
- Owning Our Own Story
- Uncorrupted Consciousness: David and Bathsheba
- A Bit of Grit: David & Goliath
- A Quiet Call
- God Interrupted
- A Holy Adventure
- The Practical Application of a Pie Which Dwelleth in the Sky
- Renew!
- The Walk is the Thing
- Only Shunammites Need Apply
- A Jairus Kind of Day
- If It’s Not One Thing…
- What’s So Great About Jesus?
- “Boomerang Christianity” or Karma for Christ-Followers
- Discovering Fire
- Now is the Moment: Holy Boldness!
- Fear the Rod and Cry Softly
- What to do When Life is Dragging You Back
- No More Crutches
- Sermon
- Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness
- Feast Your Eyes
- The Dawn of Resurrection
- No Such thing as Acappella
- Insider Information
- Keeping up with the Jesuses
- Not Guilty By Reason Of Compassion
- Generosity: 23 Pounds
- Holy IS-ness, Batman!
- The Only Way to Live
- Generosity: Living Out Our Call
- Warts and All
- Help Thanks Wow
- Why I’m Still a Methodist
- Altar Ego 2.0
2014 Sermons
- Stand Up! Speak Out!
- Christmas Cantata 2014
- What’s in a Name?
- What Melts Your Butter?
- Twas the Runt Before Christmas
- Moths and Rust and Thieves, Oh My!
- Hallowed Ground
- Heart of Generosity: You Can!
- Celebration of Pastor David’s 25th Anniversary
- Spirit Movement
- Be a Mensch
- Better Than Revenge
- Midsentence Correction
- Doing Right by Others
- Making Room for Reality
- Fearless Compassion and Relentless Grace
- Cultivating Creativity
- The Image and Likeness of God
- “Give in to your fear! Lash out in violence! Kill ’em all!” said Jesus never.
- Cherishing the Temporary
- A Tale of Two Son-of-A’s
- Racist Jesus
- The Heifer Project–Vacation Bible School
- Blind and Toothless
- Making Some Noise
- Fully Present: Practicing Mindfulness Jesus Style
- Do Not NOT Do This!
- Doubting Boldly
- The Spiritual Bystander
- Confessions of a Rookie Prison Chaplain
- Over to You!
- This is Your Life
- A Wing and a Prayer… How to Talk to God
- Good God/Bad God: Making Sense of Suffering
- Must You Be So Demanding?
- Breakfast’s on Me!
- Counter Demonstration
- The Parable of The Good Samaritan
- Why Must I Chase the Cat?
- The Parable of the Dinner Party
- The Parable of The Unforgiving Slave
- The Parable of the Sower
- The Parable of the Messed-Up Family
- The Empty Jar
- The Hidden Treasure
- Tripping Over the Cosmic Threshold
- Mischievous Mustard
- Leaven
- The Bible’s Embarrassing Legacy of Slavery
- Can I See Some I.D.?
- It’s Always Something…
2013 Sermons
- Just Love, Just Serve
- Christmas Eve, 2013
- Christmas Cantata, 2013
- And The Meaning of Life is…
- Knock Down the Walls!
- On Reconciliation
- A Quiet Revolution
- God is not a Christian
- Giving the Bible a Second Chance
- The Joke’s On Us
- Never Mind Heaven, What About Now?
- Dumping the Guilt Trip
- All You Really Need
- Bumping Into God
- Yes… But
- Chag Sameach: Joyous Festival!
- Ruth – An Uppity Woman of the Bible #4
- Ruth – An Uppity Woman of the Bible #3
- Ruth — An Uppity Woman of the Bible #2
- Ruth — An Uppity Woman of the Bible: “An Unlikely Duo”.
- Life Transformation
- More
- Stranger Than Most
- Lessons From a Celtic Cross
- Plunged Beneath the Flood
- On Notice
- Tales of a Parsonage Madam
- Pray Without Ceasing
- Between Your Choices and Mine
- Between This Time and That
- Between Vision and Action
- You Are What You Eat
- Whole Lotta Groanin’ Goin’ On
- Holy Halon, Batman
- Better Than You Found It
- The Elephant in the Room
- Taking a Risk
- Strange Game
- Certified by the State
- The Bread of Life Diet
- A Fountain of Life
- A Fountain of Life
- Putting a Dent in Lent #5
- Putting a Dent in Lent #4
- Putting a Dent in Lent #3
- Putting a Dent in Lent #2
- Putting a Dent in Lent #1
- Saving the Church From Jesus
- Simple As Pie, Easy as Cake
- Would-Be Followers of Jesus
- That Old Time Religion
- Baptism of Fire
- Why I’m Still a Methodist
2012 Sermons
- Confirmation Reflections
- Packages, Boxes and Bags
- Colors of Christmas
- Something About Mary
- Hurry Up and Wait!
- Where Are My Onions?!?
- Send Me a Good Word
- Story of Justa
- True Knowledge Exists in Knowing That…
- 50% Off Answered Prayers! This Week Only!
- Reach Touch Teach
- Wesley in Arizona
- Languaging the Spirit
- A Change of Heart
- Waging Wisdom
- In The Way
- Them Rules are Beside the Point
- Altar Ego
- Take Two Tablets and…
- Will You Please Just Grow Up?
- Strangely Warmed
- I’ve Come to Drink Your Blood: Mwaaaahaa-haaa!
- Looking Up
- Turn the Other Cheek
- Don’t Read the Bible!
- Covenant
- Compassion and Consequences
- Understanding Truth and Living Together in Unity
- Father’s Day Sermon, 2012
- The Power of One
- Late Night Life
- Pentecost – Celebrate The Birthday of the Church
- Passion!
- Mother’s Day, 2012 – A Writing by Anne Lamott
- Mithras and the Origins of Communion
- Precious In My Eyes
- Lighting a Fire
- The Rich Man and Lazarus
- Walk to Emmaus
- Lose Yourself
- The Incontrovertible Undubiousness of Leeriness
- Life is Short. Cut the B.S.
- Calling You Out
- A Resurrected Woman
- An evolving best-is-yet-to-come, non-theistic Buddhist-leaning, Sufi-quoting follower of Jesus
- The Moving Why They Do It
- Helluva Way to Run a Religion
- Spoon Poked Badger
- God of the Square Circle
- On Satan
- Life: On Being Born Again
- Why I’m Still a Methodist
2011 Sermons
- Elvira Whipple & The Thumb Island Elephants
- Perfect, Just Perfect
- Just Say Boo
- Leaving the Church to Follow Jesus
- I Am Because We Are
- Take It On!
- Be Present!
- Become Something
- The More the Merrier
- Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
- Don’t Panic
- The Fall of the House of Rusher
- Hunger for the Holy
- Lunkheads’ Panic Picnic
- Elegant Simplicity
- The Forgiving Father
- Sow What?
- You Can Smell ’em Coming
- What To Do Now That You’ve Been Left Behind
- Into Thin Mud
- Formers Not Served Here
- Enlightenment
- Transformation
- Imagination
- Destinations Unaware
- It Does a Body Good
- Weeds
- Who Speaks for God?
2010 Sermons
2009 Sermons
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 8 of 10
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 7 of 10
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 6 of 10
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 4 of 10
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 2 of 10
- Resources for the Spiritual Journey – Part 1 of 10