Dave Buerstetta on striving to do justice and love others while walking humbly with God
Getting into good trouble by welcoming outsiders is the only faithful response to exclusion. That's my argument in this sermon, continuing the theme of the previous sermon by using John Lewis' beautiful phrase. Writing about my Acts 17 sermon, which took place the week before this one, I admitted I wasn't as bold as I …
Continue reading ‘Good Trouble around Asia Minor’: a sermon on Acts 18
In June, 2008, I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Representative John Lewis speak at a Sojourners conference in D.C. He is, it should go without saying, a real-life hero. A national treasure. An inspiration. Except, I'm ashamed to admit, at the time I didn't really know just how special he was, and thus I …
According to (what we've designated as) the 13th chapter of Acts of the Apostles, the leaders of the Way were diverse from the very beginning. Apparently, I hadn't previously read this part of Acts closely enough, because that revelation kind of shocked me. Those leaders weren't afraid to boldly confront evil, which can be inspiring. …
Continue reading ‘The First Dream Team’: a sermon on Acts 13
Now that I have my sermons in a more easily-uploadable format (Thanks, Reid!), I figured they would become regular content here. [checks date on most recent post] Oops. Clearly, it is sermon time again. We're in the midst of a series on Acts of the Apostles. We're basically looking at one chapter per week. Below …
Continue reading ‘Delightfully Stranger Things’: a sermon on Acts 12
While my job title is not Associate Pastor, that's what it would be in most church settings. Someone else is the Lead Pastor (she's awesome, by the way!). My responsibilities include youth ministry as well as our justice and outreach ministries. As you might expect, I help lead our two Sunday worship services. But what …
Note: Celebrating Sabbath is my attempt to begin the week with a reminder of our true identity: whose we are and who we are called to be. Let's reboot this series with the verses I've said should be our first responder, our top go-to text, our new leadoff hitter: Acts 10:34-35 Peter: 34 It is clear to …
During our worship services this Easter Sunday, I got to read the lesson from Acts 10. I added a little prologue because the prescribed reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) begins in the middle of the story. It's a story that's too good, too important to skip over. In fact, I argue that it …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 