2 Corinthians 3:1-6, 12-18 A Long Obedience in the Same Direction Here are some statistics about the history and pastors of our church: From 1826 until now, there have been 21 pastors. The average length they’ve stayed is 8 years and only 6 have served more than 10 years. In the last 100 years, the average length of stay is 9 years.…
How Great Thou Art 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up…
John 16:12-15 Perichoresis It’s Trinity Sunday. The day when it is incredibly easy to try to explain the mystery of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to end up either committing heresy or making everything even harder to understand. In fact, there was a meme circulating around the Internet this week. It features…
God, spark of life and liberty within all who care, hold the mothers of the world, and the children of their hearts, in your arms, sharing their joys and soothing their sorrows, igniting their hope, kindling their creativity, and gracing their lives with hope. May we be your arms. Amen. Rudyard Kipling once quipped, “God…
While we’re celebrating the Ascension today, the actual Feast day is on Thursday. Because the church celebrates the Ascension 40 days after the resurrection, it always falls on a Thursday, and so we need to move it either forward or backward, to give a Sunday to it. It’s important that we not skip over it,…
Again this week I wonder – what does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us who are living 2,000 years and 5,000 miles from when and where it happened? What does the resurrection look like for those of us who will NOT see Jesus as those who walked to Emmaus, or ate fish on the beach with…
Really this sermon should be titled The Shortest Sermon and a Story. The shortest sermon is found at the very end of our reading for today: “We have see the Lord!” This would be a “Drop the mic moment” if it weren’t attached to my head. We have seen the Lord….Jesus – really him –…
This morning I want to address a very profound and important theological question. I first heard it a number of weeks ago here from a very bright and eager young student—faithful in worship and engaging. Here’s the question: Since Jesus came back from the dead, does that make him a zombie? Great Question! Well, if…
Jesus is clear. To be his disciples, to enter the Kingdom of God, we must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him! That’s a lot, don’t you think? Ever since Jesus’ death nearly 2,000 years ago, there has been a steady trail of those who have given up their lives for him, or…
This year for Lent, we are looking at the different things we can “give up” that have more to do with our heart and minds than our habits and waistlines. Giving up control – expectations – superiority – and today, our enemies. Enemies are interesting to ponder… I wonder, do we really have enemies? I…