The Blue Collar Scholar

Litmus tests tell you the pH level of a chemical, and that helps you identify the chemical. The term "litmus test" can be used metaphorically to describe something that is definitely not litmus paper but can similarly help you determine something. In last week's sermon, we learned that sin - particularly unrepentant, continual sin - is a litmus test that shows that a person is not really a Christian. In this week's sermon, we see that the Apostle John also gives us another litmus test: love. We can tell if a person truly belongs to Christ by their love. If...

The freedom to choose is a key aspect of what it means to be an American. This is true of human beings in general, but the citizens of my nation especially value individual liberty to choose this-or-that. These choices are both simple (like what to eat or what to wear) to very complex (like how to conduct a brutal war). In this sermon, we see how the Apostle John taught us not to use our freedom of choice to choose sin.

When a person is redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the believer is adopted into the family as Children of God. This week's sermon covers the last few verses of First John chapter 2 and the first few verses of chapter 3. In this passage we learn that (1) Children of God look forward to Christ's return, (2) disobedient children & frauds do not look forward to Christ's return, (3) true righteousness is only available through redemption/adoption in Christ's family, (4) the world cannot truly know or understand God or His Children, (5) our futures are not known in detail, but as Children of God, we...

Happy 4th of July! The premier liberal democracy to arise out of the Enlightenment is now a quarter a millennium old. But this sermon is not a patriotic holiday sermon. Instead, we continue in our sermon series through the epistle of First John. In 1 John 2:18-27, John warns us against those who oppose the Kingdom of God, seeming to coin the term "antichrist" in the process. End Times enthusiasts have used the term "the Antichrist" to refer to the figure that the Book of Revelation calls "the Beast." Therefore, this sermon addresses that issue, but expands the term to include...

Today I was honored to be invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Parsons (KS). This is the audio of that sermon, where I lay out reasons why some Christians think that they don't have any spiritual gifts, and why they are wrong about that.

The Apostle John tells us to not love the world or the things of the world (see 1 John 2:15). But in John 3:16, we see that God so loved the world. Is this a contradiction? And if not, then we must ask: what does it mean for one to not love the world? In this episode, we see that (1) you either love God, or you love the world, (2) the world draws us into sin, & (3) the world's time is running out.

Happy Father's Day! As we continue in our expository series through the book of First John, we come to the beginning verses of chapter 2. In this passage we learn a few things: (1) Our goal should be sinlessness, (2) Jesus fixes it (because we will never achieve sinlessness) and He defends us when we fail, (3) we should love one another, (4) our love should be extraordinary, (5) hatred & lovelessness flow from (and result in) sin, and finally, we should mature in Christ, together. This passage concludes with a poem where John explains why he wrote this book to little children, to young men, and...

Joyous Juneteenth to fans of liberty & justice for all! I opened worship this weekend with a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. As a history dude (with an actual Bachelor's degree in the subject), I am ashamed to say that I was unaware of Juneteenth until the late 2010s. But I've come to view it as an essential part of "Freedom Fortnight." In a brief 2 week window, Americans can celebrate Flag Day (June 14, 1777), Father's Day (3rd Sunday of June), Juneteenth (June 19th, 1865), The ratification of the U.S. Constitution (June 21, 1788), & of course Independence Day (July 4, 1776). Note: I mention that there will...

There is a tug-of-war between the extremes of hedonism & legalism, with neither side being the righteous choice. Instead, the Apostle John teaches us to "walk in the light, as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7), emulating Jesus rather than chasing an extreme. In today's sermon, we see that the Apostle John teaches us that (1) the Gospel starts with the glory & perfection of God, (2) our aim should be to emulate Him, (3) neither indulging in sin nor ignoring sin is acceptable, (4) only confession and repentance work, & Christ does all the heavy lifting and He fixes our mistakes.

The Summer 2026 sermon series kicks off (well, besides the introductory sermon last week) where any expository series should start: chapter 1, verse 1. The book of 1st John opens with a poetic, slightly rambling soliloquy about the "Logos," the Greek word for "word" (which is also the key word at the beginning of John's Gospel). In this lesson, we see that (1) the Word is life, (2) the Word is Christ, (3) the Word is real, (4) the Word brings fellowship, (5) the Word brings joy, & that since (6) the Word is light, then we should walk in the light.

This summer's sermon series is an expository preaching series through the Epistle of First John. This is the introduction, which lays out several overall themes of the book. Join us this summer as we dig into First John.

Memorial Day seems like a nice bookend for this Easter sermon series; beginning and ending on a holiday. In this episode we summarize all that we've discussed the past 2 months regarding the topic of joy.

Congratulations to all our graduates! Life is going to get a lot more rewarding and more difficult. New beginnings fill us with fear because of the fear of the unknown. But there is joy in new beginnings as well, because there is opportunity there. And this is not just a message for young people. As long as you draw break, there are new experiences in store for you: opportunities to find joy, serve others, and worship God.

For the second time, The Blue Collar Scholar completes a course on the Second World War. The first attempt was choppy, and I failed to record every episode. This go round, I feel much more confident that this series is a good, surface-level-yet-deep-dive into the bloodiest conflict in human history. ... In this last episode of the WWII class, we talk about the sequel to World War II. Thankfully, that has not been World War III. Instead, the United States and the Soviet Union spent nearly a half century in an intense, will-they-won't-they "Cold War." But even though the Cold War...

This Spring, we've been going over the religions of the world. This Comparing World Religions class comes to a conclusion with this short lecture. In this episode, I make some concluding remarks, including going over what we should have learned from this class, but also what I hope that we have NOT learned from studying world religions.

Happy Mother's Day! All of people, our mothers are the people in our lives that deserve the most gratitude. But this sermon is not just about the gratitude we should have for the mothers in our lives. Each of us should cultivate and attitude of gratitude that permeates all aspects of our lives, and shines through in good times and in bad. Thankful people are healthier, happier, and more joyful, and they have better relationships and more abundant lives.

My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in the US Army in April 1945, so fighting in Europe was never in the cards for Sgt. Reitz. Instead, he trained for the invasion of Japan. His ship was on the way to the Pacific Theatre when the news of Japan's surrender was announced. So instead of storming the beaches of Japan, Sgt. Reitz spent the next year and a half serving in occupation duty in Korea, being honorably discharged long before hostilities broke...

Atheists claim that atheism is not a religion. Rather, it is a lack of religion. I see no reason to not allow atheists to define their religious beliefs thusly. However, since atheism answers all the same questions that religions answers, it would be a gaping hole in this sermon series if atheism is left out. So this episode delves into the definition of atheism, related terms (like agnosticism), a rundown of many of the big names in atheism/agnosticism since the Enlightenment, and finally we look at some arguments for and against the existence of God.

Happiness is a good thing. If something makes you happy, then that is probably evidence that that thing is good. However, if the need to be happy (or, if the need to avoid unhappiness) is the driving force in all your decision-making, then the emotion of happiness is the Lord of your life. It isn't the President, or your boss, or the Lord Jesus Christ. Emotion itself becomes your king. We must not allow this to happen.

The Second World War changed human history is ways that are hardly even measurable. It changed everything. In this episode, we will look at the Nuremburg Trials and the Japanese War Crimes Trials, economic and political shifts, the move toward international cooperation and justice, the rise of 2 superpowers, decolonization, and the legacy of the war.