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The Narrow Way and Wise Foundations A teaching manuscript based on Matthew 7:13–8:1; Luke 6:43–49

The “narrow way” is not pointless restriction, but the mercy of limits. The broad way welcomes everything, grows shallow, and avoids real choices. Few choose ruin on purpose; most just drift with the crowd and wake up lost. #Christianity
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Your Kingdom Come The Kingdom We Are Taught to Ask For

To pray “Your kingdom come” and mean it is to hand God the keys to your life.

Your comfort will be tested, your pride humbled, and what you’re clinging to will loosen.

But as his rule takes root, your joy steadies, and your love grows free. #Prayer #Christian

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You Cannot Optimize Your Way Out Of Mordor Repentance as the Heart of Creation Care

“You Cannot Optimize Your Way Out of Mordor”

In which I write about J.R.R. Tolkien’s moral geography, Wendell Berry’s two economies, data centers, dark wizards, the idolatry of optimization, and repentance. #Tolkien #WendellBerry

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The Generous Life From the Father’s Table to Your Neighbor

Many of us believe God is our Father, but still pray like orphans. This is the manuscript from my Wednesday night teaching on Matthew 7:7–12, where Jesus ties the Father’s generosity to a life of generosity toward others. #Prayer open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

Hallowed Be Your Name The First Request Jesus Teaches Us to Pray

Before daily bread. Before forgiveness. Before deliverance. Jesus teaches us to pray first for the honor of God’s name. This is my sermon on what it means to hallow God’s name in our hearts, in the church, and in the faithfulness of everyday life. #Prayer open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

Retrieving Truth in a Post-Truth Age A Review of "Truth Not Served By Human Hands" by Dr. Timothy A. Gatewood

Timothy Gatewood’s "Truth Not Served by Human Hands" makes a bracing case: “post-truth” is a theological problem. If our doctrine of God shrinks, our confidence in truth collapses with it. Serious and worth reading. #Theology #Truth open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

A Gospel Cure for a Judgmental Spirit A Teaching Manuscript on Matthew 7:1–6 and Luke 6:37–42

“Judge not” isn’t a call to moral silence. It’s a warning against a posture of condemnation that forgets the cross. Some reflections on Matthew 7, hypocrisy, and the slow work of gospel-shaped restoration. #Christian #Gospel open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

"Our Father in Heaven" A Sermon on Learning to Pray as Children of God

Jesus begins his teaching on prayer by teaching us how to draw near to God in faith:

“Our Father in heaven…”

In those few words, we learn that prayer begins with belonging, adoption, reverence, and a quiet confidence that we are heard. #Prayer #LordsPrayer
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Poetry Can Save Us Attention, Limits, and the Recovery of Healthy Forms

Poetry will not fix our politics or balance the budget. But it can teach us to recognize healthy forms, respect limits, and recover the habits of attention without which nothing human lasts. #Poetry #WendellBerry open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

Carried All the Days of Old A Post-Christmas Sermon on Isaiah 63:7-9

minds us that the Lord is not a one-time savior. He continues to cary his people as “all the days of old.” #Sermon #Isaiah
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Poem: Dark-Eyed Junco A Bird Poem

Poem: Dark-Eyed Junco #Poem #Poetry open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

The First Christmas Carol A Christmas Eve Sermon on Luke 2

The first Christmas carol did not rise form earth towards heaven. It came down from heaven to earth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” #Advent #Christmas #ChristmasEve open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

Christmas with Thomas Aquinas Finding the Light of Christ in the Longest Nights of the Year

Every December, we light the darkest nights. This essay grew out of evening drives through Richmond and a Christmas hymn attributed to Thomas Aquinas. He reminds us that Christ is not a metaphor, but Light that truly enters the world. #Advent
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"Great Pan Is Dead!" Christmas and the Flight of the Pagan Gods in Milton’s Poetic Imagination A Reflection on John Milton’s "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"

When John Milton wrote "On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity", he was not aiming for a cozy Christmas poem. He was heralding a divine invasion where heaven breaks into history, and the old gods flee in terror. “Great Pan is dead!” And that is very good news. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...

Advent Joy for Anxious Hearts Practicing gladness while we wait for the King

Tonight's lesson was on the Christian practice of living in joy, and how joy is not anchored in circumstances but in Christ Himself. I wrote this lesson especially for anxious hearts who are learning how to rejoice while they wait. May God Bless! #Advent
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A Christmas Question An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 9:6, ESV.

“For to us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6). The great question of Christmas is not whether Jesus entered history once long ago, but whether He has entered your life now. History settles the first. Faith answers the second. #Advent
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Christmas in Camelot: What Has King Arthur to Do With Advent? An Advent Reflection on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Advent is a soul searching season, and in this reflection I look at Christmas through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the feast becomes the place God uncovers hidden fears, wavering loyalties, and surprising grace. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...