Good Shepherd New York

Jesus himself said that life was the point. But at this cultural moment many are wandering with an untethered spirituality or weathering toxic religion. In this sermon Michael uses the image of the wind and the sail to talk about how we can live a good life.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Tyler Schwartz reflects on Psalm 148 and suggests that everything in life from the birds of the air to the sun and moon reflect something about God in their purpose. Human beings are no exception, but what does it mean for humans to find their purpose?

On Christmas Eve, Michael reflects on the sweeping language of St. John's gospel when it comes to the Christmas story. What makes Jesus so special and what invitation exists for us in it?

Sean Palmer explores the story of Tamar, one of the women in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. During this Advent season, let's spend time recapturing the backstory of the story gives meaning to our lives.

This week we continue our Advent Conspiracy emphasis as we listen to the invitation of John the Baptizer to change our ways. Many heard his words and asked “what should we do?”. Would John tell us to spend less during this holiday season?

As the church begins the journey of Advent Conspiracy we explore the connection between worship and desire and seek to stretch our understanding beyond the dualisms often associated by the idea of worship.

On Christ the King Sunday, why do we focus on the story of the crucifixion? In this sermon Michael distills the message surrounding Jesus at the cross to one phrase: “save yourself”. Jesus looks into the darkness of that deep human instinct and speaks a creative word which tilts the world on its side: “forgive them”.

When life is in a state of upheaval, we often need ways of talking about reality that give us some separation from it and enable us to face it with an open calm rather than violent panic. That is the role of apocalyptic language and this is the force of Jesus’ teaching in today’s gospel.

Jesus gets sucked into a heated debate which on the surface is about resurrection but actually reflects other psycho-social motivations. What cross-pressures shape our debates and what lies beneath them?

Pastor Michael explores an often ignored character of the Zacchaeus story: the critical crowd. Zacchaeus experiences a profound turnaround not because he was called out, or cancelled but because he shared a meal with a gracious story teller who also told the truth.

The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is typically interpreted as a simple moral tale about humility and pride. But is more going on? Jonathan Merritt reads it as an invitation to choose the true self over the false self.

Politics: the way human community is ordered and organized under a particular governing body. Pastor Drew Jackson of Hope East Village shows us from Philippians 1 and 2 that the alternative politics of the Kingdom of God is a radically others-centered way of life. This is what the Apostle Paul calls humility.

Jesus heals ten lepers and only one returns to say thank you. Pastor Michael looks at the healing power of gratitude through the lens of science and the wisdom tradition this story represents.

Forgiveness sounds great until it threatens our sense of justice or seems cheap. In this gospel text, Jesus invites his followers to radical forgiveness that still tells the truth only without the energy of revenge.

In one of Jesus’ most famous stories we have a great post-mortem reversal of the rich and poor. What was the rich man’s folly? What can we learn from his afterlife survival instincts?