Stories & Sermons

Born in Washington D.C., Eric James Laurilla was the eldest of three. Reared in the northern Virginia suburbs, his veins coursed with Finnish blood and alcoholic genes. By day, he was a street baller; by night, a protective big brother; in between, a restless wanderer most at home in the wilds of creation. When Eric...

Ecclesiastes 1:1-10, 4:1-3 The Old Testament wisdom book, Ecclesiastes, is like a chaos anthology—a collection of poems, stories, and wisdom sayings for when life feels upside down. The author—who calls himself ‘The Teacher,’ or Qoheleth— detects no discernible order to creation. He observes injustice and oppression, sees the righteous receive the same fate as the...

Luke 9:51-62 Jesus was a man on the move. He was continuously going from one place to another. Jesus spent most of his ministry in Galilee He traveled about but at some point he returned to Galilee. That was where he was from. Galilee was the northern part of Israel with Samaria just south and...

John 5: 1-8 Steven Cole led a lot of lives in his 51 years. As a teenager he was a talented wrestler, lettering as a high school freshman. At the age of 19 he became a husband and a father. Later in life he was a chef for the Seattle Seahawks, a construction worker, and...