Brewing Theology With Teer

October 28, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchJob 42Much of what we do as followers of Christ is based upon mystery. From the basics of how exactly did Jesus turn water into wine or how the feeding of the 5000 actually happen to the sacraments - Baptism and Communion - there is much that we claim to know but what we think we know pales in comparison  to the mystery that still remains. There are aspects of creation that I will never understand - violence, illness, and hate. I’m sure many of you have similar questions. Throughout the Holy texts, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in our own encounters with the divine we find that G-d is faithful. The covenant established by G-d remains with us. This covenant sustains us and there is nothing we can do to change that. G-d does not turn a back on us today just as G-d did not abandon Job. One day, all things will be revealed by our Creator to each of us. In the meantime, we live in the confidence that G-d, our Creator, will remain fa

October 14, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchMark 10:35-45What Jesus said to the disciples shapes our lives as followers of Jesus, individually, and as a community. Discipleship means following Jesus with childlike reliance and living a cross-bearing life that resists the power and prestige we grasp for when our own security is in question.Jesus lived this cross-bearing life to the point of death so that we can do likewise, faithfully, evening though, like James and John we continue to allow fear to consume and drive our decisions, worrying about the security ourselves and our families, our status, and our station. Christ’s ransom for us frees each of us from slavery to fear-based decision making and invites us to serve one another.

October 7, 2018 - World Communion SundayMount Olivet United Methodist ChurchMark 10:2-16By quoting Genesis instead of echoing Deuteronomy Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of G-d, G-d’s disruptive reign, will empower those previously without power. Social structures designed to keep people groups in their place will be disrupted. This point is driven home further when Jesus double-down, using children, a segment of the population viewed as property, to illustrate what kind of dependency, reliance on G-d, will be necessary to be apart of the Kingdom building world Jesus has begun in his own ministry. Jesus told the disciples and the scriptures remind us today that in the Kingdom of G-d there is a greater equality and hospitality for those who are most oppressed. Not seeing or understanding this is a trap we all fall into, because while Jesus is talking about equality, inclusion, and humility, the Pharisees, we, continue to think that the Kingdom of G-d is about us. Childlike dependance on G-d relieves

September 30, 2018Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchLuke 19:1-10Extravagant generosity is about us participating in the extravagant kingdom-building work G-d is engaged in. G-d’s act of “loving, saving, and healing” in our community and around the world.

Mount Olivet UMC - September 23, 2018Genesis 411 Corinthians 16:1-4The culture of now tells us that we earned this and thus we deserve it, but when we read stories like Joseph we see that the plenty we enjoy is a gift from God, a generous gift placed in our lives by our Creator. Stewardship means caring for something that ultimately is not ours, which is why talking about stewardship of creation is so easy while talking about stewardship of money is so difficult.Stewardship means caring for something that ultimately is not ours, which is why talking about stewardship of creation is so easy while talking about stewardship of money is so difficult.

Mount Olivet United Methodist Church - September 16, 2018Proverbs 3:13-16Luke 16:1-13How we earn money is a clear and accurate indicator of our priorities. We might speak out in favor of honest work that others should be doing but do we follow the same prescription in our own businesses? We can earn by following the footsteps of someone else but at some point we have to begin living into the calling G-d has place on our lives because what you are called to will look different than what your mentor has been called to. We can preach about Sabbath and ethical practices but if we are not observing them ourselves our true commitments become more apparent.

Ephesisans 4:25-5:2So then, the new life offered to us by G-d in Christ is an invitation to claim the renaming and claiming done by G-d in our baptism. This is not a new list of things we must do to be renamed “beloved child of G-d” and claimed. It is not a list of things we must to do experience G-d’s grace. Instead, in speaking truthfully, resisting evil speech, and resisting anger we are able to don that which G-d has offered to each of us through Christ, a way of life that is different from the “but that’s the way we’ve always done.

The power of G-d’s blessing should not be used for personal or political advantage over another person or group of people. Jesus never said “G-d Bless America," or for the context of His time “G-d bless Rome,” because while overlooking our blessings and theirs, ignoring the fullness of what G-d is doing and was doing, G-d already gave a blessing and continues to do so.G-d has blessed us, but in some cases we have yet to reach the inner-spiritual harmony, the same harmony Jacob lacked, in order to fully realize and live into what G-d has given us. On a day like today with the events that are happening across the river and in Charlottesville we are reminded of our nation’s corporate lack of inner-spiritual harmony and unity. G-d, thank you for blessing America, please help us find the inner-harmony necessary to fully live into what you have given us, as we work to eliminate intolerance and hate and truly live Christ’s command to love each other

July 22, 2018Matthew 27:15-23Which Jesus do you want? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth?

July 29, 2018Deuteronomy 23:12-142 Timothy 3:14-4:5The Bible says a lot of things. It is a collection of books telling the story of the people of God. It is a book of covenant, heartache, promise, lament, renew, and hope. But “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it,” creates a problem.

When Jesus flipped the social structure of first-century Israel on its head in the Beatitudes, He did not leave it to the disciples to figure out. He laid out a detailed plan for how His followers are to become a force for transformation, filling in the spaces He opened up.Don’t get me wrong, I love the church. When followers of Jesus Christ come together to further the Kingdom of G-d great things happen. So often though, inviting someone to church is about great programming or a fabulous new preacher when instead we are called to be proclaimers of G-d’s unwavering grace, lived out by Jesus Christ, and witnesses to the power and promise of the empty tomb. It is not that we should not invite people to church. Instead, our lives are to be a force of transformation, a living witness to the Word of G-d made flesh in Jesus Christ, and that is a far greater invitation than anything else we can offer.

Mount Olivet UMCIsaiah 55Romans 10The saving work that we proclaim has been done by Jesus. Words and actions do matter, both are necessary but the former leads to the latter. While faith without works might be dead, works without the Gospel proclamation only point others to the self-righteousness we want to put on display. Proclamation is not about us. It does not start with us and it does not end with us. So when we are stuck starring at a blank page in a notebook or feel as though we do not know what to say, the Good News is that the “work” has been done by Jesus, now we get share it with the world.

In the redundancy of love the sinner hate the sin we overlook that Jesus calls us, each and every one of us without exception, to love. The redundancy of love the sinner hate the sin blinds us to the role of God in all of this, as we try to assume the agency of the divine. It is God who judges, not us. Especially not religious leaders like me. Jesus did not let the adulterous woman off the hook. In showing mercy and forgiveness (we call this grace) Jesus also shows that holiness matters as he acknowledged her past, forgave her, and then telling her to sin no more and inviting her to step into grace.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit seals the Church’s identity in the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Our identity is not found in local church politics, denominational dysfunction, or theological impasses but instead in the One who calls us to transform the world.

May 6, 2018Year B, Easter 6John 15:9-17While we might want to think of ourselves as Joey saving Ross, more often than not we are Joey saving his sandwich

I'm not talking about throwing Bibles as weapons, I am referring to the weaponization the Holy Word of God to do battle against your enemy. This is not in a spiritual warfare scenario but rather to battle back against secularization in an attempt to reclaim the Church's position of authority and power in the United States. All of this to maintain the status quo for churches who thrive on a combination of nationalism, patriotism, and bad praise music.

April 22, 2018Easter 4, Year BJohn 10:11-18, Good Shepherd SundayThe community created by the Shepherd is open and inclusive. All are invited to join the flock. There is no one who is outside the reach of this Shepherd and no one so far gone that they cannot become part of the flock. Because the risen Christ is the Shepherd, and people like me are not, our deepest fears, insecurities, and separations can be healed by the Shepherd. Whether you drive a Jeep or a Prius, whether you eat processed grains or are an organic vegan, the risen Christ invites you to come through the gate and join the flock.

April 18, 2018 - Wesley Theological SeminaryEzekiel 37:1-14Irrelevancy and decline are the undead among us, preventing us living the called life we were born into through the waters of baptism. Without living into the new life we experience through the waters of baptism we are not only those trying to survive the post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world, worst yet we are the living dead, reaching, pulling, and ripping the life out of anything we can get our hands on. Without the living waters, we emerge from and the new life promised to us in that exit we are wandering through the world struggling to survive.

April 15, 2018Easter 3, Year BLuke 24:36-48The part of Christianity that is most necessary is at times the hardest to not only explain to outsiders but also to explain to someone who has faithfully attended worship for 40 years. We start thinking of ghosts instead of bodies, creating for ourselves the same tricky-wicket the disciples experienced.

April 8, 2018 - Mount Olivet UMCYear B, Easter 2John 20:19-31