Sermons on Spiritual Life (Page 11)
The Great I AM
Do you think of God as a rock? or an eagle? or a hen with chicks? or as water? The metaphors we use for God make a difference to how we pray and live. I encourage us to think of God as constantly encouraging us to take the best route, and our prayer assists in this infolding process.
Being Like Chicks
God’s presence is everywhere, always creating the best possible options in every situation, even in the messiness of the war in Ukraine. But it is up to humanity to use its freewill to respond to the movement of God. We can do this through prayer. Not only can we do it but we have a responsibility to pray, and also to foster serenity as we trust that God will use our prayers to bring about the best possible solutions. We are as safe as chicks under their mother’s wing.
Life as a spiral
Many of us experience life as a spiral either down into more difficulty or up as we get closer to God. Sometimes in that process it seems that evil prevails – as it does right now in Ukraine – but Jesus went toe-to-toe with evil and came up as the risen, resurrected Christ. So we know that nothing, even death, can separate us from the love of God.
We are mortal
Tonight we remember that we are mortal. That we are made of stardust and to dust we shall return, carbon to carbon. And why do we do this, year after year? As if our unexpected aches and pains were not enough to remind us that we are mortal!
What do our faces show
Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash
Entering the Graciousness of God
Jesus tells to forgive those who hurt us, and pray for our enemies but this is not just a new set of rules – be nice to others even when they’re not nice to you – rather it is an invitation to participate in the grace of God, as the sons and daughters of the Most High.
Holy Living
Are the beatitudes in Luke still relevant? If Jesus were teaching us today would he leave any out? or add anything? I suggest that he would focus more on social justice and creation care.
Meet the Prophet Jeremiah
Introduction: An American vice president half a century ago taunted his detractors by calling them “Jeremiahs,” and also “nittering nabobs of negativism.” That vice president later resigned in disgrace, while the words of Jeremiah live on forever. Yet while today we may have more words from Jeremiah than from any other Biblical prophet, we perhaps rarely read them. They’re not easy to hear. Therefore, our guest preacher Mike invites us to take in all the span of Jeremiah’s long…
Disciple, Apostle, Prophet
What is your calling? Are you called to be a prophet like Isaiah, a disciple like Simon, James and John, or an apostle like Paul? I think we are called ot be all three – to learn form Jesus, to share God’s grace with others and to be active in working for social and racial justice.
Transcendence
It seems that our ancestors experienced moments of transcendence – of heaven breaking through – when the scriptures were read. What makes transcendence more likely? How can we prepare ourselves for God to reveal Godself in our lives?