Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

That individual humans are dearly loved by God is central claim of Christianity. And yet many of us go through periods where we question even this foundational idea. Are we loved? Really? And even when we believe - intellectually - that we are, coming to deeply accept and experience that love remains quite a struggle. But there are ways we can aid in the process of receiving love, practices that can undertake. For the next few episodes we will look at those, staring with hearing God say it again. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 43:1-7 (NRSV) It was preached on April 26, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Having established the content of Christian hope - the present assurance of God's ultimate salvation (see ep. 292) - we turn now to the Christian obligation to be instruments of hope to others. Amidst suffering, even suffering inflicted upon us, as followers of Jesus we are called to embody hope, to reveal the way to love and peace and rest. Our means for accomplishing this? In a word: holiness - being distinctly Christian, distinctly loving. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  1 Peter 1:1-16 (NRSV) It was preached on April 19, 2020 (Easter) at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For many of us right now, especially, hope can feel in short supply. Not just the amount of hope, but the content of hope. What are we actually hoping for? And what has Jesus got to do with it? What constitutes "Christian" hope? That we won't suffer? That we won't grieve? Die? Clearly that is NOT what the gospel promises (see "crucifixion"!). Is hope, then, limited only to the age to come? I trust that God will win in the cosmic end? Is there true, meaningful hope for today? Short answer: yes. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 8:1-27 (NRSV) It was preached on April 12, 2020 (Easter) at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This remains a very difficult time, as crisis seems to mount upon crisis, pain upon pain, fear upon fear. And the question that confronts us is: How do we remain people of enduring hope, while honestly enduring suffering? When we don't seek false escape from pain, diminish it or deny it, but courageously face it, what gets us through? What genuine hope do we have? And how do we experience it? The short answer is: prayer. And prayer can be learned. In this episode we examine Ps. 118 as we learn how to pray deeply. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Psalm 118 (NRSV) It was preached on April 5, 2020 (Palm Sunday) at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or check out the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive. Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What most of us want amidst suffering is for the pain to end - to be quickly delivered from our distress. And it is tempting to imagine that if God loves us, this must be what he desires as well - a quick and sudden end to our hardships. Perhaps that is the hope of faith, that if we are sufficiently obedient, God will prevent our suffering in the first place (or remove it quickly)? But the Bible makes no such promises. Indeed Jesus himself insists that we will face pain. So what then is our hope? And why? The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 5:1-5 (NRSV) It was preached on March 29, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or check out the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive. Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

One of the hardest parts of enduring this crisis is coping with so much uncertainty: How long will it last? Who will be affected? What about the economy? Will there be a vaccine? Who should I trust for information...? The questions can be dizzying and tempt us in some moments to grasp at any hope offered, and at others, to nearly abandon hope. In this episode, we look at the biblical promises of hope - what God does (and does not) assure to his people - so as to ground ourselves in on the bedrock of truth and faith. It is in proper, nuanced hope that we find both comfort in our suffering and creative energy to bring transformation to our world. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 46:3-13 (NRSV) The "lemonade stand" photo was taken by professional photographer and Canvas family member Irene Bowers (thanks, Irene!). This sermon was preached on March 22, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or check out the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive. Want more content from Jesus at 2AM? Check out the website, where you can also learn more about how to become a patron! Up for connecting??? I'd love to have you send e-mail, or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This is the first in an entirely ad hoc series on hope and transformation and how they fit together. It is born out of the pandemic that has swept our world, and my ponderings on what defines the Christian hope and how that hope can shape the world that emerges on this other side of this crisis. This sermon is from March 15, 2020 (the first week of California's social distancing order) and looks at the theological and practical sides of loving our world in the manner of Jesus. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Matthew 5:1-16 (NRSV) If you'd like to participate in a virtual worship service at Canvas (Kirk's congregation), they are now available on the Canvas website and Vimeo page. Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Isn't the main point of Christianity to be a good person (and thereby to secure my place in heaven)? I mean, if one is basically moral, reasonably charitable and occasionally saintly, doesn't that please the Almighty? Is the point to please the Almighty? Come to think of it, what IS the point of Christianity? If one were to boil it all down, what's the message of the gospel? In this episode we take up these questions and arrive at a vision of faith that goes far beyond ethics. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV) If you'd like to participate in a virtual worship service at Canvas (Kirk's congregation), they are now available on the Canvas website and Vimeo page. Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I know that as a Christian I am called to sanctification - to a life shaped ever more into the image of Jesus, in short, to a life of sinning less and loving more. And in some areas of my life, I see progress! But in other areas...not so much. Indeed in some facets of my life, I see almost no inner change at all, despite genuine effort. What gives? Do I just need to try harder? Really? (Frankly, much of me is ready to give up and just make peace with a besetting sin or three.) So what does actual sanctification look like??? How do I work with besetting sins? And is there an option for change beyond sloth (i.e., surrender) at one end of the spectrum and scrupulosity (never-ending guilt and anxiety) at the other??? The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Matthew 25:14-30 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Does prayer work? By which we mean, does prayer change anything? Is it supposed to change things? Change external circumstances? Or merely the disposition of the pray-er? And if God knows all that we need and loves us dearly, does his help depend on our prayers or the prayers of others??? In this episode our beloved Ian Farrell takes up the topic of prayer - a practice with which he is intimately familiar - and offers his insights on the purpose of prayer and the means by which prayer affects us and others. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  John 16 (NRSV) And here's the link to Jordan Seng's Miracle Work. Read at your own risk! ;-)    Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.