Hope in a Minor Key
I. Opening Lyric – The Song as a Sermon “Lord, don’t move this mountain, but give me the strength to climb.<br>Lord, don’t take away my stumbling blocks, but guide me, …
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Blues Christology: Jesus Did Not Sidestep the Blues
James Cone once declared that “Jesus is Black.” By this, he didn’t mean melanin; he meant that Jesus identifies with the oppressed, the disinherited, the crucified peoples of the world. …
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02 – A – RCL – The Rules Done Changed
Isaiah 11:1–10 (KJV) Opening — Naming the Old Rules There are some rules this world will hand you before you even know how to write your name. You learn them …
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The Blues and Eschatology: Hope in the Dirt
Too many sermons hang hope on two hooks. Some promise heaven tomorrow — a mansion over the hilltop, streets of gold, no more crying. Others promise a hookup tomorrow — …
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How Blues Rescues Us From Hollow Celebration
Some preaching can holler loud, hit the right runs, and get folks on their feet… but when you sit down and really think about it, there ain’t much meat on …
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Trouble in My Way: Preaching When the Answer Is Still “No”
Some of you know that old gospel-blues number: Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes. Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes. I lay awake at …
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Blue Note Preaching
You ever notice the real note isn’t always the one on the page? In the blues, the right note is often in between the notes. Not the clean pitch the …
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The I, The Us, and the Hope In Preaching
I was listening to Wynton Marsalis recently—one of the great jazz trumpeters of our time—and he broke jazz down into three essential elements. This is my summary of what he …
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Three Things the Blues Will Do To Your Preaching
Real preaching doesn’t promise you the new car. It doesn’t guarantee a bigger house, a better job, or a fairy tale ending. Because the Bible doesn’t either. You can name …
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The Moan and the Whoop: Where Blues Meets Preaching
You ever notice it? That preacher starts to rise near the end of the sermon — voice bending, throat tightening, rhythm building. And suddenly, they’re not just talking. They’re singing …
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Why The Psalms and the Prophets Sound Like Blues
If you’ve ever spent real time in the Psalms or the Prophets, you know they don’t sound like the neat, polished songs we often sing in church. They’re raw. They’re …
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