Jason Lief

All of the lectionary readings for Advent were blatantly political. Maybe a better way to put it is they were all anti-establishment. Every text was imbedded within a chapter that begins with a reference to the powerful. Luke 21 begins,…

I'll admit, I got duped into signing up for Audible a few months back. I always sign up for promotions and then forget to cancel. A few weeks ago I discovered I had accumulated "credits", so I purchased a lecture…

Christianity can falsely be made so severe that human nature must revolt against it in order to cast it or thrust it away. But Christianity can also be made so lenient or flavored with sweetness that all attempts to perk…

This past week I took my son and daughter to see Gary Clark Jr., a blues guitarist from Austin Texas. The timing was fitting, it was the day after the election. There I was, in Omaha, NE, listening to the…

"Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." This is what the Lord says to Cain. Cain is angry; he’s preparing to rage. His offering wasn’t good enough. He worked the ground,…

This morning I propose that the increasing fatalism within the Christian community, the resignation that the world is as it is, is a product of our thin worship. I'm suggesting there a connection between the evangelical yawn in the face…

The time has come for our politics to die; it has become too sick and twisted to save. Our politics has become infected with privilege as the rich and famous dance on the backs of the poor. Increasingly, the poor…

You'll never guess what came on the UPS truck the other day—a life-sized cardboard cut out of Bob Ross. You know, the curly-haired PBS painter who made painting look easy. I used to watch Bob Ross; he inspired me to…

I'm guessing many of you have a photo app that likes to remind you of memories from years past. This morning my wife texted me this picture: You might be thinking "So what? It's a van." Yes... yes it is.…

Twice now I've had people ask me to give more examples of how we can love our neighbor. A common theme in my sermons is how loving God and loving neighbor are deeply connected. We can't love God if we…