Joe Burnham's Blog

A few weeks back I put together this video requesting a Google Wave invite (since then, I've actually received two of them). While the video was fun, that's not why I'm posting it here, after all, this site is about ministry, mission, and equipping God's saints for the missional life, not fun videos I've made. So, what does this video have to do with the missional life? Well, in large part, it talks about the doctoral program I'm starting in January (the first stage of our African...

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After launching the eLife podcast earlier this summer, I went a few episodes and decided that I didn't like what I was offering, so I put it on hold and decided to rethink the idea. In this episode, I explain the idea behind the new cast by taking the comment that brought it about and putting it through the cycle.

I'd love to hear what you think of the new format, and would also love to hear your suggested topics.

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The "E" in a WELL Church

This past Sunday I preached as part of a 4-week series that we're doing at St. John's. The series explores four aspect of the Acts 2 Church, all built into the acronym WELL. The 'W' stands of worshipping, 'E' is for evangelizing, the first 'L' is for learning, and the second 'L' is for loving.

I aimed for something practical and relational in the realm of evangelism, and also tried to tie it into last weeks sermon on a worshipping church. I'll let you tell me how I...

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Mark 6:14-29

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach again at Christ Triumphant Lutheran Church in Denver's Historic Baker Neighborhood. It's always a joy to be there because it's the congregation the family attended while I was on my hiatus and Pastor Hank is the guy I go to for private confession and absolution.

The text itself is an odd one with an unusual amount of detail for Mark and tells a somewhat morbid and sad story of the beheading of John the Baptist. So, how's that link...

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Mark 6:1-6

In Jesus' day there were many who encountered him and liked aspects of who he was but ultimately rejected him because of other aspects. Today, we as Christians often have aspects of Jesus that we struggle with as well. So what keeps us from being like those Jesus was amazed at because of their lack of faith? How do we as Christians make sense of the questions we face everyday?

The sermon was preached at Ascension Lutheran in Littleton, Colorado.

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What to Preach on Fathers Day

This past Sunday I had the task of preaching on Father's Day. It was a challenge for me as I had months to prepare and, in the process, gathered way more thoughts than I could ever cover in 15-20 minutes. In the end, this overwhelming amount of info actually guided the structure I used. Enjoy, and happy belated Father's Day.

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Ephesians 6:5-8

On Sunday, June 14 I had the opportunity to preach at St. John's on one of my favorite topics, vocation. The word itself comes from a Latin word that means calling. In this particular sermon, I used Ephesians 6:5-8 to address how Christians, in light of the cross and empty tomb, should view their time in the workplace.

Thoughts?

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John 15:7-18 and 1 John 5:1-8

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach to God's people at Christ Triumphant, the church Anita and I attended for the first three months of my hiatus and the place I go for regular private confession and absolution.

The attached sermon isn't so much a sermon, but it's more a retelling of my reflection on the text during the week leading up to the sermon, and how the events of life, including the visit of friend, impacted my study of God's Word.

I'd love to hear...

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Green and the Gospel

This past Sunday I was the preacher at St. John's here in Denver. Given that we're doing an event for Earth Day, I decided to do a sermon that aimed at exploring the green issue from the foot of the cross and the empty tomb.

Moreover, because this can be a tense issue for Christians, many of whom see the radical left's love of the green thing and assume there's nothing of value there, I tried to incorporate all of Scripture into the message, and link being green to one...

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Please read A Mezuzah Art Tour (Part 1), A Mezuzah Art Tour (Part 2). and A Mezuzah Art Tour (Part 3).

Having addressed the idea of holding onto what God's revealed, which means that we place our faith in something more substantial than a feeling, and also having pointed to the history of God's work in Jesus, we turned around to the wall opposite "The Messiah" and looked at "Detroit – God":

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Like artist Michael Johnson, I met Kate Levy, the eye behind "Detroit – God", at Gallery XZanthia. In...

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