This message given at Hope Church in November 2019 focuses on the problem of suffering and evil in a world made by an all loving and all powerful God.Av Barney Wiget

James’ vision for the Church was where the rich and poor sit next to each other, embracing each other in mutual, symbiotic relationships wherein the rich man needs the poor man as much as the poor man needs his rich brother.Av Barney Wiget

James 5:1-6 -- addressing and undressing classism in the Church… You can’t be the kind of Christian that James describes and, at the same time, judge the relative worth of other humans based on their socioeconomic success or race or any other external factor.Av Barney Wiget

God does allow a lot of people to acquire wealth to use for his glory, but to make consumptive acquisition a universal promise for all and an evidence of great faith and true spirituality is, in my opinion, not only mistaken, it’s evil! Please listen to my justification for this brash statement in this brief commentary on James 4...…

No one has more “envy and selfish ambition” than the devil and he’s happy to share it with anyone willing to log in and download it… Christians who are "classless" either give away their position for the sake of the community or give out of their privileged position for the community’s sake…Av Barney Wiget

You’d think it would go without saying that we should check our prejudices at the church door for at least an hour of worship, but apparently we can't! It doesn’t speak well of us if we won’t even treat people who aren’t like us with dignity for one hour on Sunday mornings. Let's see what James has to say about it.…

A rich guy gets a good seat and the poor guy who sits on the floor of the church! Not exactly what Jesus envisioned!Av Barney Wiget

Here's part 2 of my intro to the Epistle of James; this time focusing on the writer and how he mirrored the practice and teaching of his 1/2 Brother, Jesus on the topic of "Classless Christianity!" Listen at the peril of your prejudice.Av Barney Wiget

In the world, some are disdained and others acclaimed for their socioeconomic station, but for followers of Jesus those distinctions are irrelevant. Christ annihilates classism! If you wonder whether or not this is biblical, check out my take on James 1:1-11.Av Barney Wiget

The Epistle of James confronts classism in the Church and by the Church. Besides the teachings of Jesus, this letter is the New Testament's most concentrated teaching on social justice.Av Barney Wiget

Is there a different way to see this famous mantra of prosperity promisers?Av Barney Wiget

Intercession is the kind of praying that we do on behalf of those who don’t know how to or don’t care to pray for themselves. And when we pray this way we’re playing our role in the world as “priests," responsible to not only intercede for our Christian family but for the rest of the human family – terrorists included.…

This is a kitchen table talk wherein I unpack a blog I did a while back on "The Candy Store Church." It's a little cynical, so beware. I mean no disrespect. I do love the Church and just want us to be better than this... You can find the blog at: https://musingthemysteries.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/the-candy-store-church/…

This is Part 2 of 2 episodes on the basics of a life of prayer. You'll find the outline and list of passages referred to at https://musingthemysteries.wordpress.com/2015/09/26/a-primer-on-prayer/.Av Barney Wiget

I’m concerned about the prayer lives of many Christians with whom I engage. I don’t see many prayer meetings in churches anymore and it seems to me that many spiritual leaders and church members have less than exemplary lives of prayer. This is a primer on the topic of prayer, the outline with a list of passages can be found on Musingthemysteries.w…

The kind of love that produces balance/shalom doesn’t love everything. It hates some things but never hates people. Love hates only the things that hurt people. It’s not biblical balance when you hate the democrats or the republicans or gays or whites or blacks or Asians. What you should hate is what does harm to the gays, whites, blacks, Asians, d…

In this message based on Elijah and Elisha I address young disciples in particular toward a courageous life of discipleship. I encourage both young and old to listen to this, apply it to your own lives, and share it with someone you think would benefit from it.Av Barney Wiget

Here's a kitchen table talk on the purpose and power of worship. I find that most Christians worship for the propriety and pleasure of it, but have not understood the power of it. This is a simple message that I first shared with some friends with whom I worship weekly in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco at a place called "Hippie Hill."…

You’d be hard pressed to find a better example of courage in Bible than the prophet Elijah. This is the guy who openly rebuked kings, predicted a drought, was fed in the wilderness by ravens, raised the dead, called down fire on a water-soaked altar, and was eventually taken to heaven in an angel-driven chariot! He was a pretty special guy whose br…

Soren Kierkegaard said, “Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.” Here I propose an alternative to that culturally dictated frenetic pursuit.For an outline of the passages referred to here, see my blog post called "Simple Pleasure" at https://musingthemysteries.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/simple-pleasure/.…

Simplicity and generosity are symbiotic qualities and twin lifestyle choices. When talking about holiness we usually think of activities such as sexuality, speech, substances, and Sunday services. But the Bible speaks of our sanctification in terms generosity to the poor as much or more than all of these put together. I refer you to a fairly extens…

This is the final episode of my teaching from Luke 15 on Outer Circle Christians. I give a sort of out of the box interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Coin and exhort us to ask the Spirit to help us see and reach trashed yet treasured sons and daughters of God.Av Barney Wiget

Instead of hiding where it’s safe and comfy, Jesus compels us outward, away from the center of our own little world. This is Part 2 of a 3 part “kitchen table talk” on how Jesus taught those who considered themselves the “inner circle” to care about the least, the last, and the lost; and to join him on his quest to heal a sick world.…

This is a three part “kitchen table talk” on how Jesus taught those who considered themselves the “inner circle” to care about the least, the last, and the lost; and to join him on his quest to heal a sick world. While we tend to insulate ourselves by sequestering ourselves in the center where it’s safe, Jesus compels us outward, away from the cent…

“There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” G.K. ChestertonFor those at least moderately convinced by now that simplicity is biblical and a quality to be cultivated I offer some suggested simplifiers. Listen further…Av Barney Wiget

What’s the question everyone asks when somebody wins the lottery? “What are you gonna do with the money?” Funny how that’s the same question God asks us basically about the stuff he puts in our hands. Part 2 is about who our stuff belongs to and what we’re supposed to do with it.Av Barney Wiget

From where I sit, a lot of supposed disciples of the vagabond, homeless preacher named Jesus have confused their net worth with their self worth. This is part 1 of 3 episodes on Simplicity and Stuff. You can find a blog post on this topic at https://barneywiget.com/2015/05/25/simplicity-and-stuff/.Av Barney Wiget

Jesus made it clear and concise: “Be my disciples and make disciples.” This is a message I gave in our church in Santa Cruz in about 2005. It’s part of a series on being and making disciples based on the lives of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. I trust the Spirit to help you catch the vision!Av Barney Wiget

A lot of people want to be “spiritual” but what does that mean exactly? In this teaching from a series I did on the Book of Colossians I pointed out three spiritual aberrations that Christians concoct in our quest to be more spiritual: legalism, mysticism, and ritualism. Our “isms” seem to be the same yesterday, today and forever – that is, until J…

Simplicity, as I see it, is the way Jesus is, and the way he is in us. Two indispensable qualities of the simple life are "sincerity" and "spontaneity." Listen up!Av Barney Wiget

Simpler isn’t the same as easier – a point I’ll unpack throughout this series. Swimming against the current in culturally toxic culture is like picking a fight with entropy. It’s one of things that make a life with God such an adventure!Av Barney Wiget

Don’t spend your life, invest it! Based on the Parable of the Ten Minas, this teaching has to do with stewarding our lives for the Kingdom and glory of God. Jesus depicted the faithful, the less faithful, the unfaithful, and the faithless. Which are you? [Please excuse the less than stellar recording.]…

I gave this message the Sunday I returned from a terribly needed Sabbatical. During the 6 months previous to my time away our church had ben through a very difficult season, one from which I barely survived as a pastor. The things I share in this teaching were part of how the Lord restored and renewed me.…

I can’t think of anything more important for our emotional well-being and for the health of the Church than overcoming offenses. For our own good, God requires that we learn to forgive those who’ve offended and wounded us. Of all the messages I’ve given over the years, this theme always seems to provoke a change of thinking about how we're feeling …

This teaching on how to minister to one another is based on the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. I propose that we take our cues on how to serve each other from what he taught us in the Upper Room that night. i.e. If you have my feet in your hands, please use neither scalding hot nor freezing cold water. And since your goal is to take of…

This is a teaching I gave while in the middle of a series on the book of Romans called, “Grace Based.” I thought it best to take an entire message to teach about Satan’s role as the “Accuser of the Brethren,” and how to resist his skewed logic by asserting what we know about the justifying work of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.…

This message, based on the fruit of the Spirit passage in Galatians 5, is the final teaching in the series on “Christian ACTtitudes.” I’m indebted to an article by the late Jerry Cook in which he compared the toxic works of our sinful nature with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and …

I think that since God has scattered his truth all over the place it can be found in some of the most unlikely places. In this message based on Psalm 19 I teach that while we should recognize divine truth in such locations as a biology textbook, the writings and art of skeptics, and even in the cults, these are but fragments of the Truth as it’s fo…

I gave this message in our church in Santa Cruz, CA during a series on the Book of Revelation. No, it’s not about the Second Coming of Jesus, and yes, the title is a play on words. I’m not that vain! This is about God giving nothing less than his best to us and us giving nothing but our best back to him. As we make our resolutions for the coming ye…

I presented this simple “Kitchen Table Talk” to one of our churches as a primer on how to study the Bible inductively. Instead of the typical terms for inductive study: Observation, Interpretation, Application; I use Investigation, Interpretation, Integration. They seem to me to be more descriptive of the process of the most out of the Word. Plus, …

After I gave this message to our church in Santa Cruz, CA one eighteen year old kid went out and got this Greek term “epieikes” tattooed down the entire left side of his torso. It’s actually a beautiful piece of art, but I don’t think his parents have talked to me since then! So, if you’re inclined to do the same, please don’t tell anyone that it w…

As I said in the 1st of this series, “ACTitudes” is not a typo. It’s a composite of both “attitude” and action,” both of which are important to Christian development. I gave this message to our church in Santa Cruz on the qualities that Peter recorded in 2 Peter 1. The list of “ACTitudes” that Peter urges us to develop is: goodness, knowledge, self…

First of all, “ACTitudes” is not a typo, it’s a Wigetism; a word I made up, a composite of both “attitude” and action,” both of which are heavily involved in the lifestyle of the disciple of Jesus. These are right attitudes that lead to right actions. I gave this message to our church in Santa Cruz, CA sometime in the early 2000’s. It’s the first o…

This is a recording of a “Kitchen Table Talk” that I made years ago for one of our churches during a season in which we had a particular crisis that required supernatural forgiveness. Someone pointed out that the Church is a lot like Noah’s Ark. It might stink real bad from too many animals and not enough Lysol, but it is the only thing floating in…

When I was first diagnosed with cancer I worried about dying before my story was finished. I have some things I want to do before I go to be with Jesus. What you’ll find here is a brief “kitchen table talk” summary of an essay I posted on both my blog and website based on Jesus’ teaching in several passages in John’s Gospel. I’m both consoled to kn…

This is a message I’ve shared on several occasions over the years from Psalm 84 about suffering and how we can cooperate with God to turn our desert places into verdant gardens. The Psalm means immeasurably more to me now that I’ve experienced my own personal wilderness, and have seen God do what only God can do to – if not change my circumstances …

This is a message that was fostered during an interactive teaching I gave in a house church in San Francisco. I learned as much as I taught that day from the tiny letter to Philemon about compassion – a profounder level of it than I had known before.Av Barney Wiget

Shame Off You! I had a conversation with a guy in the street who had served decades in prison for a double homicide he’d committed in his youth. He believes in Jesus but is still very wracked with guilt and shame. I shared with him the best I could about the freedom that Jesus brings and the next time I had an opportunity to preach in the Tenderloi…

I gave this message to a church in San Francisco with whom I have longstanding relationship. I shared with them about how God has scattered through his world six particular categories of clues to attract everyone to himself, and how that effects my own personal ways of sharing Christ with people. The church meets in a rented facility with a drop-de…

Since so many followers of Jesus are limited by spiritual timidity I gave this message to several churches in the Bay Area in 2013 on 2 Timothy 1:6-8 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of …