Sermons by Tom Harris
Rev. Tom Harris has served as Govans’ Senior Pastor since 2006. >Read Tom’s Biography
Fighting the Real Enemies
How do we read these challenging passages about Israel conquering the native inhabitants of “The Promised Land”? What is our Promised Land today and what enemies must we overcome to enter into it?
The Vision & Power of Christ & Christianity
Christianity and Christ provide us vision and power if we are willing to work for them. Paul invites us to be crucified with Christ so that something greater may rise within us. So we can experience the vision of what we are called to be and have the power to live in that way.
Breaking Down the Barriers
The story of the Apostle Philip meeting the Ethiopian Eunuch on the road is a story of two people breaking down the barriers society has built between them. God is calling us to do the same every day.
It’s Been on Fire the Whole Time
Christ is always among us. Christ is with us in every person we meet. Our calling is to recognize that our hearts and minds (in fact our heads) are on fire with the presence of God. Our challenge is to recognize this when we are in the moment, so we don’t just look back and say, “Oh, my head was on fire the whole time.”
When the Resurrection is the Resurrection & When the Resurrection is not the Resurrection
When we are young we accept the Resurrection at face value. As we study and reflect up in it we see there is much more to the story. Then at some point the simple truths and hope of Resurrection become all we may need.
The Rich Man, Lazarus, and Wanda Maximoff
In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, we meet a man who has created a bubble of privilege so impenetrable that even as he suffers for his actions, he cannot see the truth. In this sermon on Luke 16:19-31, Rev. Tom Harris connects the Marvel TV show WandaVision with this parable. In the show, Wanda Maximoff has created a similar bubble of power that blinds her to reality. How do each of us create the same kinds of…
Seeking to Restore Lost Relationships
In the parable of the lost coin, what has God lost? Not individual people. God knows each of us intimately wherever we are. In this reflection on on Luke 15:8-10, Rev. Tom Harris suggests that God has lost the human community that God created us to be. So when we seek to restore relationships and community, we are working with the energy of God toward the same purpose.
Remember the Lost and Commit to Change
In this passage from Luke 13 we hear two stories about preventable tragedies and the way Jesus challenges us to see them as more than misfortune or punishment of the victims. In our own day, the staggering death toll of COVID-19 was preventable. Pastor Tom invites us to value human life in way that prevents such suffering in the future. The parable of the fig tree that follows these two stories suggests that God may not be infinitely patient with…