Does the 21st century nation state of Peru play an essential role in salvation history? Short answer: Of course not. God loves Peruvians! But Peru the cultural/political body is not critical to the plan redemption. So why do many American Christians suspect that the US, as a nation (or a cultural dimension of the nation), is a divinely ordained actor on the stage of cosmic salvation? The (mistaken) answer is located deep in both church and American history, and needs to be corrected for the health of both. If you'd like to follow along with the sermon text, the passage is: Genesis 12:1-3 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on July 5, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! For some very helpful resources, here is a link to Canvas's Continual Learning series on Racial Justice Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron. Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail!

Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 17 - Origin Stories

How do I, as a white, well-educated, heterosexual, Protestant, cis male, who would never knowingly sanction racism of any sort, reflect on "systemic racism"? For those of us who try hard to so very hard to be good people (defined in no small part by being not-racist!), the phrase can spark a reflexive defensiveness ("Not me!"). Yet the enduring effects of racism in our society are clear on many fronts - from "red lining," to access to education, to criminal sentencing, to... So how do I, as trying-to-be-loving-Jesus-follower, think about my part in the "system"? Might I be an unwitting participant in oppression? Can I even ask myself the question? And what if yes...? For my part, it has helped greatly to shift the focus a bit from the specific wrong of racism, to the larger category of sin. Do I imagine that as a fallen human, sin has the capacity to distort my sense even of myself, and to inspire a selfishness I of which I might not be aware, a blindness I might unconsciously wish to perpetuate? For some very helpful resources, here is a link to Canvas's Continual Learning series on Racial Justice And if you'd like to follow along with the sermon text, the passage is: 1 John 1:1-10 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on June 28, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 16 - Admitting the Problem (of Sin)

Hope is the belief that things can change for the better. And it is the question the gospel persistently sets before us: Are we naive in thinking that meaningful transformation is possible? And more naive still to believe that love is the means by which such transformation truly occurs? These questions of hope, love and change are especially pressing as we face afresh the reality of historic racial injustice and ask if and how we can shape a better tomorrow. Here we look at the story of Nicodemus, a Pharisee confronted with Jesus's insistence that he be "born again from above" - that is to say: to surrender what he thinks he knows, and let God show him what love can do (i.e., radically change a heart!). Here's the link to Canvas's Continual Learning on Racial Justice And if you'd like to follow along with the sermon text, the passage is: John 3:1-21, 7:45-52, 19:38-42 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on June 21, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 15 - On Love, Hope and Change

"How does one appease a deity? Gain a favor? Avert a curse?" Such questions stood at the center of Ancient Near Eastern religion (and of many cultures since...). And thus great effort has been dedicated to rituals and ceremonies and strict adherence to divine instructions. So what does the God of Israel want from his people? What are our instructions? (And is our purpose to gain a blessing or escape a punishment??) In this episode we turn to the OT prophet Micah's succinct articulation of God's answer. If you'd like to follow along, the passage is: Micah 6:6-8 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on June 14, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 14 - What God Wants? Justice, Mercy and Humility!

As those called to share in God's project of restoration, justice is at the heart of our work. But what does the Bible mean by "justice"? The term easily conjures feelings and images not shalom (peace), but punishment - that divine justice is defined by the reward of the righteous and the proper condemnation of the wicked. (This is where much of the "law and order" language we hear in connection to politics arises!) But a closer look reveals God's concern is not judgment but compassion. Above all, to be people of divine justice is to be those who ensure the shalom of the least and lowly... The racial justice resources mentioned in the intro can be found here. If you'd like to follow along, the passage is: Luke 11:37-54 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on June 7, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 13 - Jesus and Divine Justice

Essential to the life of faith is recognizing that hope is rooted in reality, in what is actually possible. The gospel has no room for fairy tales or wishful thinking, only for what can be accomplished in this time and place. And thus the work of maturity is to expand our vision for what is possible with God (short answer: healing, peace and restoration). The difference is subtle, but critical. In a world that is hurting deeply (and this sermon was preached during the rapidly growing COVID crisis, only days after the death of George Floyd), the way forward is to see, as best we can, the world through Jesus's eyes - to see with compassion all the brokenness of the human condition and the in-our-midst process by which love is transforming the broken. If you'd like to follow along, the passage is: Luke 5:12-16 (NRSV) This sermon was preached on May 31, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to share in the whole worship service or find previous sermons, they are available on the Canvas Vimeo page.  Or join us via live stream every Sunday morning at 10:30AM (Pacific Time)! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 12 - Hope and Vision

At the cross, Love and Evil went to war - the final confrontation between God and sin. And the question is: Who won? (It would be good to know, as the answer changes everything about how we live!) The New Testament, of course, argues passionately that Easter is the proof of God's victory, and as a result, the entire course of history has been transformed. But has it? And if, indeed, it has, how might we experience the change for ourselves? What are we to do to both share in and further the triumph of Love? Today we turn to a critical passage in Paul's letter to the church at Corinth. Here are the links I mention in the intro: The biblical passage is: 1 Cor. 15:1-22, 30-34, 50-58 (NRSV) Here's a link to the map. And here is a link to our Good Friday Stations of the Cross worship service (it's wonderful, truly!). This sermon was the conclusion of a larger series titled Again & Again that was a joint project of Canvas Presbyterian Church and two other congregations. You can find the whole series on our Canvas Vimeo page, and, if you'd like, subscribe to receive future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Easter 2021: The Long, Slow Triumph of Love!

APOLOGIES for being away so long. No...really. I'm sorry for the extended absence (more in the intro). But at last we continue in our look at hope in the time of COVID, and particularly how we make good use of a crisis. So far we've looked at the essential first step of faith: allowing ourselves to be loved. Now we take the beginning of step two: recognizing that Jesus's manner of love - indeed his whole way of being - is a radically new road. And it calls us to a radically new worldview. As I mention in the introduction, one dimension of Canvas's work in these last few months of which I am very proud, is our Continual Learning series on the church and the LGBTQ+ community. It's a core value of Canvas that we are always growing in our understanding, and one very important intersection between the larger culture and the church is engagement around members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. As a congregation that is inclusive and affirming, we felt compelled to deepen our understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience, and thus, created two extended learning series on the subject. The resources we collected and discussed are hardly the final word on any of the topics, but in the hope of continuing the conversation and growth, I truly encourage you to take a look at what we managed to put together. You can find the whole collection here. As for this sermon... The biblical passage upon which the sermon is based is: Luke 6:17-36 (NRSV) It was preached on May 24, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 11 - Love and Revolution

The ultimate lesson of Advent, indeed the ultimate lesson of the whole of scripture and the life of faith, is love - the pure, open, unending and unconditional, freely-given love of God. It is the simplest of insights, and yet we can go decades - even as confessing Christians - without truly seeing it...truly. And so this is a sermon about exactly that: the love of God, as plainly as I can make it. It's not a Christmas sermon per se, but there is much within it about discovering Jesus (again). I hope it's of help! Here's a quick link to translation of Augustine's Confessions I've been raving about! And the biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: John 14:18-31, 15:12-17 (NRSV) It was preached on December 20, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! And know that we'd LOVE to have you join us for Christmas Eve worship! The service will be live at 4:30PM PST on Dec. 24th.  You can find it on the Canvas website or on our Vimeo page. Want even more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Advent 4 (2020) - The Name of the Game

If any emotion has been in short supply this year, it's joy. And yet Advent calls us to return to this central experience of the Christian life, whatever our momentary circumstances. Today we hear from Banning Cantarini, a young and gifted preacher, who takes a look at how one of our most beloved carols of Christmas was written amidst serious suffering, and why coming to Jesus is cause for rejoicing. This is no call to deny pain or paint a happy face on hardship. Rather, it is a reminder of grace. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Luke 2:8-15 (NRSV) It was preached on December 13, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! And know that we'd LOVE to have you join us for Christmas Eve worship! The service will go live at 4:30PM PST on Dec. 24th.  You can find it on the Canvas website or on our Vimeo page. Want to hear more from Banning (I highly recommend it!). You can find more of his sermons here. If you would like make a (United States) tax-deductible contribution to Canvas, please click here! And thank you! Want even more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Advent 3 (2020) - Come and Be Joyful!

Peace is the theme of the 2nd week of Advent and one of the central promises of the Bible. And yet for many of us, true peace - both inward and in creation - is very elusive. How can we find inner calm when so much of the world is hurting? Would we not have to turn a blind eye to suffering? Indeed, is not the way to peace on Earth the labor of God's people? Today we look again at Psalm 46 and a deep lesson on the nature of peace and and the means by which we can truly experience it (memory and faith). The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Psalm 46 (NRSV) It was preached on December 6, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! I truly do hope you will accept my invitation to join Canvas for some or all of our upcoming events. Just click here to see what's up next! And here is the link to my Christmas at 2AM Spotify playlist! If you would like make a tax-deductible (US) contribution to Canvas (thank you!), please click here! Want even more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Advent 2 (2020) - Peace Within and Peace on Earth

We begin Advent 2020 with a look (by our beloved Rev. Ian Farrell) at a Jewish official named Sosthenes. Originally mentioned in the book of Acts, he took part in bringing charges against Paul in Corinth, charges that could have had dire consequences. And when the case is thrown out of court, Sosthenes is attacked by his own. Seems the last we’d hear of him...until he co-writes 1 Corinthians. It turns out people can change - a lot! And that’s not a bad reason for hope in a broken world! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Acts 18:12-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (NRSV) It was preached on November 29, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! As I mentioned in the intro (given that Advent 1 is the beginning of the Christian new year), now is the perfect time to begin or renew the habit of praying the daily office. If you'd like more info on the office, I wrote a short start-up guide here.  And there is much more about the practice in the Loving God 201, Part 6 episode (#101) on the subject! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Advent 1 (2020) - God, Sosthenes and Hope

If you find yourself having to learn the same lesson of faith a thousand times, following Jesus closely and then wandering off aimlessly, believing and not believing, trusting and doubting...this is the episode for you. And you happen to be in good company - namely Jesus's first disciples! Today we look at the general ineptitude of the original apostles and how clearly their impressive fallibility reveals the unconditional love of God. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Matthew 15:29-16:20 (NRSV) It was preached on May 17, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 10 - On the Difficulty of Discipleship and the Grace of God

Who truly belongs to the family of faith; how wide is the circle of God's people?  This was one of the most contested debates in the early church, and remains so 2,000 years later. In this All Saints Day episode, we take up the question of inclusion and why Canvas has published a formal statement of our full embrace of those of every race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, socio-economic status who call on Christ as Lord. As I mention in the intro, Canvas is currently engaged in a Continual Learning series on the church and the LGBTQ+ community. To find the resources we are exploring and join in our Zoom conversations about them, please click here! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Deuteronomy 10:12-22 (NRSV) It was preached on November 1, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Embracing Every Saint - The Church and the LGBTQ+ Community

Continuing our look at the practice of being loved by God, we read the story of Jesus encounter with a young mother desperate for healing of her daughter. Everything about their meeting is a violation of cultural expectations, and the scene is wrought with emotion. And in this meeting - where hope meets love - we see in stark relief the boundless love of God for each and every person, no matter how distant from God they may seem (or feel). The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Matthew 15:21-28 (NRSV) It was preached on May 10, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 09 - The Love of a Mother and the Heart of Jesus

Where intellectual integrity meets an honest quest for faith. Humorous and sincere, this is one pastor's attempt at late-night-level honesty about the Bible, church history, theological scholarship, spiritual practice and...God. And how it might just turn out that love is the name of the game.

hubhopper

Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Ch...

hubhopper