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.
Kick Me to the Curb
Mellow greetings, Merry Mystics!
I was thinking about Pete Seeger this week—one of my heroes—so I wrote this little protest song.
Anyone want to send me another verse?
Not So Wise Are We (Hymn)
I wrote a new hymn to go with the Epiphany story in the Gospel of Matthew. It’s about those mysterious visitors from the East, who behave so foolishly in the story. They go to the wrong place (Jerusalem, not Bethlehem); they visit the wrong king (Herod, not Jesus); they ask him a really foolish question (“So, what do you know about the new king—the one who’s going to replace you?”); and when they finally get to the right place, they bring three really inappropriate gifts! How’d they ever get to be called “Wise Men” anyway?
Sheet music for “Not So Wise Are We” is freely available, as always, and you can listen to the hymn here. (I also gave a whole sermon on the subject—in case anyone wants to hear a sermon!)
The Dark Night (I Miss You, My Friend)
Hello, Merry Mystics! Here’s a song that’s more mystical than merry.
This Sunday, I’m teaching my congregation about St. John of the Cross. We’ll read his poem “The Dark Night,” and I’ll summarize some of his extensive commentary about the “dark night of the soul.” I think most of us have had times when God feels distant—I know I have. (So did Jesus, according to the crucifixion stories in Mark and Matthew. And so did the author(s) of a number of the Psalms, like 10, 22, and 34.)
Anyway, I wrote this song to go with that teaching.
Well, actually, it sounds sort of rational when I put it that way, but the truth is that the idea for the song came to me first, out of the blue, while I was looking out the window on a flight at the start of a week’s vacation. When I got home again, I planned the sermon to go with the song.
The song is called “The Dark Night (I Miss You, My Friend)”. I’ll put sheet music for it in our Free Stuff area.
Slow Me Down
Hello, Merry Mystics!
Here’s a hymn I wrote to go with my sermon, “Kairos Bathing”. I got the idea for this hymn on a Thursday, to go with the sermon I was writing for that Sunday. Thanks for the inspiration, God … but would it be too much to ask for a little more lead time?! The sheet music is here:
There’s also a video of it here, with Ron McCutchan singing and Charlie Gebeck accompanying.
Bright blessings,
Adam
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.
When Prophets Agree
Isaiah, Amos, and Micah agree on this—and so did Jesus.
Prayer of Change
Jesus was all about change; churches, not so much.
How You Could Have Known (2026 Edition)
A sermon about an early film. “Too political”? You decide.
Baptism: The History and the Voice
There’s nothing so beautiful that human beings can’t turn it into a problem. Case in point: baptism.
Not So Wise Are We
The “wise men” in Matthew’s story were pretty foolish; they received their epiphany anyway.
The Infancy Legends
Over the centuries, the story of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph seeking refuge in Egypt prompted a wide response in art, music, drama, and literature. Today, it calls us to action.
The Annunciation to the Shepherds
This story has often been represented in art and music. Historically accurate? Probably not, but it’s full of truth nevertheless.
The Good Tidings of Advent
The good tidings of Advent are not only spiritual, but also political and economic.
Comfort Ye My People
An eighteenth-century conservative meets a twenty-first century progressive.
The People that Walked in Darkness
Our religious tradition (like many others) often uses light and darkness to represent the presence and absence of God.