Theologian & pastor Matthew Tennant's blog
In 1738, a young Anglican minister walked along the streets of London. He was not just a Christian, but someone who had answered God’s call and responded to the gospel … Continue reading “Strangely Warmed Hearts” Sermon from Isaiah 1.10-20
When we start each day by counting our blessings, we can develop a sense of gratitude for all of the good things that surround us. Gratitude can be hard to … Continue reading “Plenty of Bread in the Bible” Sermon from Exodus 16.1-7a
Most of what we emphasize in most churches comes from the noösphere. If you haven’t heard that word before, it’s okay, and there won’t be a test later. The noösphere … Continue reading What are the dolphins saying? A sermon from 1 Corinthians 12.14-26
What would it be like to have everything work out okay? Imagine making a mistake—or, not even a mistake—imagine things went really bad and you had no control and lost … Continue reading “The Sabbatical Year” a Sermon from Deuteronomy 15.12-18
When we were living in England, a professor at my university named Paul Collier wrote a book called The Bottom Billion. In it, he argues that during the worldwide economic … Continue reading “The Affluent Minority” A Sermon from Proverbs 19.17
The story of Zacchaeus is familiar territory, and familiar stories are dangerous. We tend not to stop and reread them. We come to the beginning of Luke 19 and say … Continue reading “The Repentance of Zacchaeus” Sermon from Luke 19.1-10
Deuteronomy 26.1-11 is available here. The Monkey King (or A Warning Against Following Foolish Leaders) One night the King of the Monkeys noticed a glorious golden moon lying at the … Continue reading “Not Stuff, but Good Stuff” – Sermon from Deuteronomy 26.1-11
Link to the biblical text. This sermon followed the following combined choirs singing “We Shall Overcome”: University Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir, Jubilate, and Charlottesville High School Choirs. You can see … Continue reading “A Different Kind of Mountaintop” – Sermon from Luke 9.28-36
Where I Was Hannah’s struggle was real. She had a problem and she saw it through the lens of her world. In her day, her value was in producing a … Continue reading “Hannah’s Struggle” a Sermon from 1 Samuel 1.4-20
Our gospel lesson is the story of the widow’s mite. This story always reminds me of the seventeenth-century metaphysical poet Richard Crenshaw’s poem based on this passage: Two mites, two … Continue reading “Heroic Generosity” a sermon from Mark 12.41-44
What is important to you? Is our priority the same as God’s priority? Mark 9 is about how people see others. John felt like people should follow Jesus the way … Continue reading Resituating Priorities – a sermon from Mark 9.38-50
Our reading is a part of one of three speeches in Proverbs attributed to women. The first word in our reading is חָכְמוֹת (khok-moth’) which is a form of חָכְמוֹת … Continue reading Learning from the Wisdom All Around Us – a Sermon from Proverbs 1.20-33