Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 22nd, 2016
Treasure in Clay Jars 2 Corinthians 4:5-15, NRSV Matthew 5:13, NRSV Reflections Whenever we deny that we’re wounded, we prepare the perfect breeding ground for bitterness, anger, cynicism, coldness, and rage. When we don’t recognize and accept our wounds and frustrations, we easily grow cold, grow hard, and toughen our skins, minds, and hearts. We […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 18th, 2016
The Gift of Life Together 2 Corinthians 2:1-17, NRSV Reflections People take time. But in our haste, we size them up or cut them down to what we take to be a more manageable size, labeling people instead of trying to hear, understand or welcome them. And we love our labels as ourselves even as […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 18th, 2016
The God of All Consolation 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, NRSV Reflections It is not that suffering or failure might happen, or that i will only happen to you if you are bad (which is what religious people often think), or that it will happen to the unfortunate, or to a few in other places, or that […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 18th, 2016
Sermon Series: Welcome of Resurrection Strugglers Welcome Luke 24:13-35, NRSV Reflections Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to make ourselves forget that the world holds nothing sacred… where we spend much of our lives, you and I, the place that we go to in order to escape — a bar, a movie, […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 16th, 2016
Sermon Series: Welcome of Resurrection Enemies Welcome Acts 9:1-19, NRSV Reflections The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people. — G.K. Chesterton It is our experience, good or bad, of our lives that teaches us Paul’s transformation from violence to breakdown […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 16th, 2016
Sermon Series: Welcome of Resurrection Failures Welcome John 20: 1-19, NRSV Psalm 32:1-2, NRSV Reflections We must always be ready to be surprised by God. They were, that spring morning, the third time they saw him after his resurrection… They were surprised by the huge catch… They were surprised by Jesus himself. And they were […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 16th, 2016
Sermon Series: Welcome of Resurrection Doubters Welcome John 20: 19-31, NRSV Psalm 56:1-4; 8-11, NRSV Reflections I’m grateful to be a practicing Christian. I’m always amazed when people say, “I’m a Christian.” I think, “Already?” It’s an ongoing process. You know, you keep trying. And blowing it and trying and blowing it. — Maya Angelou […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 5th, 2016
Sermon Series: Welcome of Resurrection Weepers Welcome John 20: 10-18, NRSV Psalm 56:8, NRSV Reflections Tears are a biological gift of God. They are a physical means for expressing emotional and spiritual experience. But it is hard to know what to do with them. If we indulge our tears, we cultivate self-pity. If we suppress […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 5th, 2016
Ambition through the Lens of the Cross Mark 11: 7-11, NRSV Philippians 2: 3-11, NRSV Reflections Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. — Attributed to C.S. Lewis Don’t be overly ambitious, especially coming from pride Selfish ambition Enemy of Ambition Selfish – always sizing others and compare […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jun 4th, 2016
Identity Through the Lens of the Cross Mark 15:21, NRSV Galatians 2:20, NRSV Reflections If the cross points us to a God whose most essential characteristic is love, then our new identities are bound up in that same God — we are to be re-made around love, re-defined as those called to a life of […]
Traveling Light Relay
Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light