by jakeowensby | Aug 11, 2023 | Matthew 15:21-28, Proper 15 A
When my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I had a few choice words for God. On a long evening walk under the stars, I railed at the unfairness of it all. At God’s unfairness. “Honestly, the kid’s barely out of preschool and she’s already undergone open heart...
by jakeowensby | Mar 17, 2023 | John 9:1-41, redemption
Brené Brown introduced me to the phrase “shame storm.” If you’re like me, you’ve been caught in one before. You just didn’t know what to call it. Shame storms can be triggered by all sorts of things, and they may take different forms for different people. But in...
by jakeowensby | Mar 3, 2023 | 2 Lent A, John 3:1-17
Rollen Stewart’s name may not be familiar to you. But you’re probably aware of the trend he started: displaying “John 3:16” signs at sporting events. In the 1980’s the media referred to Stewart as Rainbow Man and alternatively as Rock’n Rollen. He’s a born-again...
by jakeowensby | Jan 6, 2023 | Baptism, Baptism of Our Lord, Conversion, Matthew 3:13-17
Some years before we met, my friend S- pastored a Baptist church in Paris. He invited another American preacher, also fluent in French, to cross the Atlantic and deliver a series of talks on the Christian life. The guest speaker’s first teaching focused on the...
by jakeowensby | Dec 16, 2022 | Faith and Science, Matthew 1:18-25, Secularism, Virgin Birth
My atheist phase lasted for about fifteen minutes one sunny, late-spring afternoon. Freshman year in college was coming to a close for me. There was a party at a nearby river. A couple of my friends and I were standing midstream on a large rock. Soaking up the sun,...
by jakeowensby | Jun 10, 2022 | John 16:12-15
Rebecca’s friend Rachel ran up to her with big news: “I know who the tooth fairy is.” They were in second grade. The night before, Rachel had awakened while the tooth fairy was exchanging the tooth left under her pillow for a dollar. “It was my dad!” she said....
