Beacons of Hope
Walton Lighthouse by Rodrigo Soares www.unsplash.com
Gracious Words
Photo by Ales Krivec @ unsplash.com Jeremiah 1:4-10 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Luke 4:21-30 Psalm 71:1-6 I’m in the middle of a rather dense book called “Jesus in the Drama of Salvation” by Raymund Schwager. It was written in German, and the English translation is not always clear to me, so I have to keep rereading paragraphs and it’s a slow process. Also it’s a lot to take in. The author is focusing on a question that bothers me and I…
We are the Body of Christ
Photo by Randy Fath @unsplash.com Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 Psalm 19 I love Sundays like today when each of the readings overflows with possibility. Let’s start with Nehemiah. This is the only Sunday in the whole of the three year cycle when we hear from Nehemiah and we never hear from the closely linked book of Ezra. I was in seminary before I knew anything about these guys. After the exile in Babylon, a small…
Transformation
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John the Deacon
Photo by Cristian Palmer on unsplash.com Isaiah 43:1-7 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 I remember being a young lad in elementary school and having to have my parents help me occasionally with the difficult parts of my homework assignments. The memory that stands out for me is the fact that I was not gifted with a natural propensity toward an aptitude in mathematics in those days and my dear mother took on the challenge of helping me with that portion of…
It’s Us!
Yesterday my good friend, Lynn, was telling me how excited she is about a class she’s taking this year with Eckhart Tolle, a metaphysical teacher. Some of you have probably read some of his books. She is excited to be giving this time and energy to her spiritual journey. It made me think of the three magi who came from somewhere in the East following their spiritual dream in the form of a star. Lynn has been reading Tolle’s books,…
The Intersection of Cosmic and Mundane
John 1:1-18 My sister is an excellent preacher. Although we are different in many ways, we also both tend towards procrastination and dislike housework. We joke that if one of us is cleaning, it is a sure sign that we have a sermon to write. So it will not surprise you that at my allotted sermon preparation time yesterday I found myself cleaning a car mat which had suffered from a particularly sticky holiday food event. As I worked, I…
Making Room for Baby
Photo by Filip Mroz on unsplash.com Many of you know Sarah. She’s expecting to become a grandmother any time now. Last week, the baby was in the wrong position so the doctors decided to do a C section on Monday but when the family arrived at the hospital they discovered that baby had moved into the normal position. But a day or two later baby moved back and so they went back to the hospital for a C section but…
God is Persistent but never Pushy
I always have a little bit of trouble knowing what to say in my sermons at Christmas. After all, you all know this story already. And most of you have heard as many Christmas sermons as there were angels in the heavenly host! So this year, I enrolled in a Christmas Preaching Bootcamp. It seemed a good idea. I figured I would get some new ideas and y’all might get a better sermon. But there was one thing I didn’t…
