The Abundant Life, Part 02: The Life-Giving Law of God

Today we arrive at the 6th Commandment: “You shall not murder…”  That, at least, is how the NRSV translates it. But as you’ll see, there is much, much more to the 6th commandment than not murdering someone. (Though not murdering is a darn fine place to start!) The goal, however, is to go much farther than not taking life. Rather we are to honor the sacred gift of humanness and all the beauty that is inherent to human life. That is to say: if we want the abundant life, we begin by honoring humanity - our own and that and of everyone else. In this episode I highly recommend checking out the meditation app Happier. (They are not sponsors, I have no financial stake..., it's just an app I love and think you might, too!) If you'd like to check out the biblical text for this episode, you can find it here: Exodus 20:1-13 (NRSV). If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

The 5th commandment tell us to "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." But what does "honor" truly mean? Is it obedience? Gratitude? Or something even deeper—a call to listen, to remember, and to carry forward the lessons of love and grace?  Our world often teaches us to move fast, to leave the past behind, and to define ourselves solely by individual achievement. But the truth is, none of us walk this journey alone. We are all part of a story much larger than ourselves, one woven together by the people who have come before us and those who will come after us. Today, we’ll reflect on what it means to give weight to the past—not as a burden, but as a gift—and how that can shape the way we build a future rooted in love, connection, and abundance. The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 20:12 (NRSV) If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

Today we arrive at the 4th commandment: "Remember the Sabbath..."  And you get a sermon not from me (which is probably good because – as you might have guessed – I’m not great at Sabbathing!), but from our old friend, Rev. Ian Farrell – who is much better at Sabbath than I am.  In this episode, Ian is going to make the case that Sabbath is not about the particular day we choose for rest, but about the attitude we carry about being a beloved child of God because of who we are, not what we do. It’s a lesson that we probably all understand at a superficial level. But letting our belovedness sink deep into our identity is a whole ‘nother matter…! If you'd like to follow the sermon text, you can find it here: Exodus 20:8-11 (NRSV). As a reminder, if you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

Today we continue our journey through the Ten Commandments—not as a list of rules, but as a pathway to true freedom and flourishing, arriving at the 3rd commandment: "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." For many of us, this commandment has been reduced to a simple rule about avoiding bad words or not using God’s name in vain. But its meaning runs far deeper!  The 3rd commandment is about the profound significance of God’s name, about the power of prayer and and the dangers of distorting faith for personal or political gain.  To call on the name of the Lord wrongly is dangerous business. Whereas calling upon God rightly leads us into a life of deeper intimacy, integrity, and love. The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 20:7 (NRSV). If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting Kirk, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

In this episode we continue our look at what Jesus meant when he said he came to bring "life and life abundantly." It’s a study that has taken us not into the NT so much, but into the Old – specifically into the 10 commandment of all places. Indeed, today we look at the 2nd commandment “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Which at first glance, sounds like a reiteration of the first commandment – have no other gods. But I’m going to argue that this is not the meaning of the 2nd commandment at all! Rather the God of Israel wants no idols of him! And there is a very, very important reason why…and it leads back to Jesus. I’ll let the sermon fill in the gaps... The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 20:2-6 (NRSV). If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting Kirk, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me." It is the first commandment and it sounds...rather ominous. But if we take a moment to listen more deeply, what we discover is actually a call to radical freedom! In a world of myriad deities, each with a slight power over the necessities of life, the stress of keeping each placated was never-ending (and exhausting!)...perhaps not so unlike our world today... And yet, at Mt. Sinai - after the lived experience of rescue from slavery - the God of Israel declares complete sovereignty over creation; meaning that the endless drive to keep the gods satisifed is entirely unnecessary. And the one God who calls for loyalty is the God who freely saves the objects of his perfect love. Maybe far from ominous, the first commandment is a gift of peace, hope and joy - the very heart of what it means to live life abundantly! The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 19:1-6, 20:1-3 (NRSV). If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) If you'd like to go back and find sermons and audio that Kirk presented at Canvas during his long hiaitus, simply head to the Canvas Sermon Archive. For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting Kirk, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

We continue our look at the abundant life by turning - quite unexpectedly! - to the 10 Commandments and consider the possibility that they are not meant to be the burden we so often imagine them to be, but are rather a gift pointing us to health, life and joy. They are, after all, the first instruction of a loving God to his chosen people. Perhaps love is more operative within the commandments than threat...? (Click here to see the 10 Commandments poster referenced in the sermon!) The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 19:1-20:21 (NRSV). If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) If you'd like to go back and find sermons and audio that Kirk presented at Canvas during his long hiaitus, simply head to the Canvas Sermon Archive. For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!  

We begin our look at the abundant life in Christ by examining what has gone wrong. Why do we find ourselves so taxed so often? Why does inner peace feel so ellusive, even though I have a genuine faith in God's goodness and love? To answer these questions we turn to the Apostle John and also to the theological work of St. Augustine and his metaphor of the "two cities" in which Christians have our citizenship. (Augustine's "City of God" is one of the great works of literature, bar none!) Join us as we explore both the theologial reasons we find ourselves caught in a world in conflict and the practical steps we can take to reclaim a life of abundance — one filled with love for God, self, and other - rediscovering the fullness of what it means to be human.  It can help to follow along visually, so the text for this sermon can be found here: John 10:1-10 (NRSV). If you'd like to go back and find sermons and audio that Kirk presented at Canvas during his long hiaitus, simply head to the Canvas Sermon Archive. If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!

Yes, you read that correctly, the podcast is returning!! Returning on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 to be exact. It has been a long two-and-a-half years... a break I never expected. But a pretty bad case of burnout hit me hard and it's taken some time to recover and build some new habits that make podcasting possible once again! New episodes begin this coming Wednesday and each Wednesday thereafter - starting with a series on The Abundant Life, a very unexpected look at the 10 commandments. If you want to catch the end of the series Hope in the Time of COVID, or Jesus and the Revoluion, they are always available in the Canvas sermon archive. There you can also find a (painfully long?) series that covers the entire Book of Acts if that sounds intriguing.  And if you'd like to reach me (and I hope you will), the best ways right now are to send me email directly or come find me on BlueSky where I'm @Jesus-at-2AM.  Thank you for ALL your generous support over the years and I'm excited to be back!

The divine rescue - of which the ministry of Jesus is the decisive act - is not merely to be understood as the securing of a heavenly afterlife for the faithful, but the restoration of a fallen creation. To be "saved" is to be set free, to be healed and to be counted a citizen of the "kingdom of God."  But such freedom recognizes there we are presently captives, subjects of a hostile regime. There is an enemy that must be defeated. But identifying that enemy - the actual enemy - can be quite difficult. In this episode we turn to the story of Jesus's "temptation" in the wilderness as Matthew helps us see that this is Evil's attempt at a negotiated victory. Why not accept some comfort here, some glory there and a whole lot of earthly power? All that is required is to let Evil continue it's work behind the scenes... It's an offer Jesus managed to refuse..., but one we are quite often willing to accept in an instant. And the thing about deals with the devil is...there is never a deal. It can help to follow along visually, so the text for this sermon can be found here --> Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV) If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com or send me email here!