Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light
Posted in Sermon Notes on Feb 14th, 2016
Birthed Into Mission Hosea 13:13, NRSV John 3:1-10, 16-17, NRSV Reflections Just as we are invited to step into the worship of the Trinity in which the Son glorifies the Father in the Spirit, so we are called to share in the mission of the Trinity in which the Father sends the Son by the […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Feb 14th, 2016
Elijah: Faith with a Limp 1 Kings 18:20-39, NRSV Mark 9:1-8, NRSV Reflections Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things. — St. David of Wales, d.589 The main question: where is God? We need prophets’ voices that scream out but that is not a sustainable way to live spiritually In the Bible, […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Feb 9th, 2016
Power that Crushes and Power that Heals 1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29, NRSV Mark 10:42-45, NRSV Reflections Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Feb 9th, 2016
David’s Praise 2 Samuel 5:1-5; 6:1-5, NRSV Acts 2:22-28, NRSV Reflections That which dominates our imagination and our thoughts will determine our life and character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we are worshiping, for what we are worshiping we are becoming. — Ralph Waldo Emersonquoted in Broken Tablets We do praising all […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jan 24th, 2016
The Courage of Ruth Ruth 1:8-21; 2:1-12, NRSV Matthew 1:1-5, NRSV Reflections When we demand satisfaction of one another, when we demand any completion to history on our terms, when we demand that our anxiety or any dissatisfaction be taken away, saying as it were, “Why weren’t you this for me? Why didn’t life do […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jan 24th, 2016
A Song in the Desert Deuteronomy 5:1-6; 6:4-9, NRSV Mark 12:28-31, NRSV Reflections What I have called repetition in the Bible might most accurately be called rhythm: a carefully shaped set of recurrent stories and words that when studied closely erupts with meaning. The repetition I have in the past considered to be merely mechanical, […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Oct 2nd, 2015
The Limp of Jacob Genesis 32:22-32, NRSV John 16:20-22, NRSV 2 Corinthians 12:10, NRSV Reflections If there is such a thing as human perfection, it seems to emerge precisely from how we handle the imperfection that is everywhere, especially our own. What a clever place for God to hide holiness, so that only the humble […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Sep 23rd, 2015
The Laugh of Sarah Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7, NRSV Reflections I know there are Christians, so called, who never crack a smile and who can’t abide a joke, and I suppose Presbyterians contribute their quota. But I don’t meet very many of them. The stereotype as such is a big lie created, presumably, by the devil. […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Sep 23rd, 2015
Unintelligible Sunday Notes (9/13/15) The Mark of Cain Genesis 4:1-18, NRSV 1 John 3:11-18, NRSV Reflections We either bear the marks of Christ in self-sacrificing love Or we bear the mark of Cain in self-justifying narcissism The marks of Christ are the wounds of healing love The mark of Cain warns people to stay away […]
Posted in Sermon Notes on Jul 18th, 2015
Creeds: The Essentials of Historic Christianity God the Father 1 John 1:1-5, NRSV Luke 15:11-24, NRSV Reflections I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that […]
Traveling Light Relay
Down by the riverside I laid my burdens down and I'm travelin' light