Free Stuff
My sheet music and other free resources are available here. Just follow this link, and enter your Merry Mystic password when requested.
These things are under a Creative Commons license that allows you to download them and copy them freely—for any non-commercial use.
Enjoy!
Store
I have books, CDs, and a video series for sale from my store page. (I wish I could just give everything away, but one must eat!)
I’m especially excited about my new book, now available: My Burden Is Light: A Pastor’s Plea for Rationality, Honesty, and Humility.
About
Merry, Mystical Missives
Here you’ll find everything I’ve sent out to the mailing list for The Merry Mystic.
The Buddha Kicked My Butt
My little church, the Open Prairie United Church of Christ, is probably the only church for a hundred miles where I could sing this song on a Sunday morning. (It followed my sermon.) Be the Light, Merry Mystics!
Love Small
I love my small town: Princeton, Illinois. At least, I love it now. Hated it when I first moved here…
Me and Joe and What’s-His-Name
Here’s a song I wrote, inspired by a story from the Gospel of Luke. I performed this at the close of our Sunday morning soulcare at the Open Prairie United Church of Christ on Palm Sunday, 2024.
You Loved Your Life, and You Let It Go
I wrote a new hymn for the second Sunday in Lent. (It goes with my sermon, “To Let It Go“.)
There’s this paradoxical teaching from the Jesus tradition. It appears six times in the gospels (Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Matthew 10:39, and John 12:25) possibly from three independent sources (Mark, John, and Q). Luke 17:33 puts it this way: “Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” I think that’s one of the many things Jesus not only taught, but also demonstrated in his life.
These are the words of the hymn:
You Loved Your Life, and You Let It Go
You lived and laughed; you loved to be
At table with high and low.
Sharing our lives, and helping us see,
Teaching us truth, setting us free.
You loved your life, and you let it go.Answering pain, answering thirst,
You let your fair fountain flow.
We were enslaved, oppressed and coerced;
You gave us hope: last shall be first!
You loved your life, and you let it go.In word and deed you made it plain,
The way that the wise should know:
Clinging to life is always in vain;
Letting it go, wins it again.
You loved your life, and you let it go.Ever lament! Ever rejoice!
Let tears and let laughter flow!
Heaven and earth still ring with your voice,
Thanks to your love, thanks to your choice:
You loved your life, and you let it go.
As always, sheet music for “You Loved Your Life, and You Let It Go” is available in our Free Stuff Area. Also, you can see and hear it being sung for a church service here.
These are the (mostly video) messages sent out to The Merry Mystic mailing list.
Sermons and Such
Every week, I preach in the Open Prairie United Church of Christ in Princeton, Illinois. I’m not sending most of these out to The Merry Mystic mailing list; but on the outside chance you’d like to see a sermon, here they are.
Bread Month
The Gospel of John spends a whole chapter on Jesus as the Bread of Life.
Mary the Tower
Here’s a beautiful piece of recent biblical scholarship—something that speaks to the heart as well as the head.
Serve and Shine
Jesus sometimes served with humility, and sometimes let his light shine. So should we.
Remnant’s Hope
I’m thinking about the biblical concept of a “remnant.” Speaking of remnants: did you know that birds evolved from dinosaurs? Maybe there’s a lesson for us in there somewhere!
Church and State
Thinking about what I’ll do when the DNC asks me to run for President.
Authority
Here are two authority challenges: recognize Jesus’ authority, and claim your own.
Peace! Be Still!
Calming the storm: the storm outside, and the storm inside.
Kingdom Call, Kingdom Response
God calls to the seed, and to us: come forth!
Live Lovingly, Again: Against Pride of Belief
Jesus was far more interested in how people behave than in what they believe. We should be too. Live lovingly!
A Pineapple of Compassion
This Sunday, we read a story from the Gospel of Mark about a disagreement Jesus had with some Pharisees concerning proper observance of the Sabbath. Deep inside the story is a beautiful teaching of Jesus—a teaching that’s important, whether you work on the Sabbath or not.