2020 April

Impossible Questions, Part 5–How Could I Forget?

Impossible Questions, Part 5–How Could I Forget?

How Could I Forget? The only good thing to come out of having no live hockey to watch is that the Bruins have been showing reruns of the games from their epic Stanley Cup championship in 2011. Trust me, these games were spectacular. Boston beat Vancouver in a final winner-take-all game seven and became one of the most loved teams in Bruins history. How loved? One woman tweeted that her husband had stated that the night the B’s won was the happiest day of his life. She immediately prodded him with, “Not our wedding?” Now, the B’s winning it all wasn’t the happiest day of my life, but it was way up there! And you would think, as a result, that I would have almost perfect recollection of those games. But while I was watching the games again, it dawned on me, there are things I had definitely forgotten. For

Who Is This God That Is with Us?

Who Is This God That Is with Us?

This sermon is based on Colossians 1:15-20. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Let me just say it: of all the times for the angel of the Lord to introduce the name, Immanuel (meaning God with us), to use it to announce to Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was by the Holy Spirit was the worst. Why? Because from that point on, we have thought that Immanuel was a Christmas name and only properly used during Advent. Now, to be fair, Joseph was in a very difficult time and Israel was mourning in lonely exile there and that whole Caesar Augustus tax decree was extremely bitter (tax time always is), and those are all perfect occasions to remind us that God is with us. But somehow, we have lost the connection between

Impossible Questions, Part 4–Job’s Job: The Limn

Impossible Questions, Part 4–Job’s Job: The Limn

Director’s Note: Last week, for your consideration into why God allows suffering (and as part of our on-going series of impossible questions), I submitted a rather quick overview of the book of Job. Since Job’s job is to make things clear, I thought it would help. Apparently, it didn’t. For most of us, even after my blog, Job remains rather enigmatic. So today, to help clear things up from last week, we offer Job’s Job: The Limn. It’s like a Broadway play without the broadways. So, sit back and read the script in different voices and be introduced to all sorts of wonderful characters (15 of them, by my count) and enjoy Job like never before. Welcome to the River’s Edge production of Job’s Job: The Limn! Please note: Job’s Job was first performed at the Edge on a Friday night not so long ago. Anything that doesn’t strike you

Is God with Us?

Is God with Us?

This sermon introduces our new series and is based on Revelation 21:1-4. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Let me just say it: of all the times for the angel of the Lord to introduce the name, Immanuel (meaning God with us), to use it to announce to Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was by the Holy Spirit was the worst. Why? Because from that point on, we have thought that Immanuel was a Christmas name and only properly used during Advent. Now, to be fair, Joseph was in a very difficult time and Israel was mourning in lonely exile there and that whole Caesar Augustus tax decree was extremely bitter (tax time always is), and those are all perfect occasions to remind us that God is with us. But somehow, we

Impossible Questions, Part 3: Job’s Job

Impossible Questions, Part 3: Job’s Job

When I was a kid, I loved watching The Wild, Wild West. It was everything I wanted in a TV show. It was a horse-riding-western featuring a gadget-toting secret-agent man set in a mission-impossible, cliff-hanger motif with a cool theme song. When the network cancelled it, I was crushed. I even recorded the theme song from the very last episode ever (using my Craig recorder with the cool stick-shift control) so that I would never forget it. I was also proud of myself. While the rest of the world would soon forget the melody, I would be able to hum it on cue (and I heard the girls were really into guys who could hum TV theme songs! (Fun Takeaway #1 for those interested – they were lying!). And then exactly one week later (same bat time, same bat channel), there was The Wild, Wild West on my TV! I

Rooted in Resurrection

Rooted in Resurrection

As we rejoice in the power of the Empty Tomb on Resurrection Sunday, this sermon is based on Acts 9:1-9, 17-22. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Elie Wiesel once remarked, “God made man because He loves stories.” When you think of all the stories in the Bible, you may be convinced that Wiesel is absolutely right. There are stories everywhere in the Bible! There are stories about sin, about grace, about faith, about a lack of faith, about courage and hope and heartbreak There are origin stories, war stories, love stories, disturbing stories, and funny stories. There are stories about heroes and failures, about kings and ordinary people, about men and women and stories about good and evil. And that barely scratches the surface because the Bible is filled with

Impossible Questions, Part 2

Impossible Questions, Part 2

There’s an old joke about a man who had terrible headaches, ringing ears and an inability to catch his breath. He finally decided he could not take it anymore, and so he decided to end it all. But he wanted to do it in style, and so he went to a tailor and ordered a brand new thousand-dollar suit. As the tailor was showing him various suits, he casually asked what shirt size the man wore so he could complete the ensemble. The man said he was a 16 neck, 34 sleeve and 43 chest. The tailor immediately grabbed his tape measure and started measuring. “I knew that was wrong,” he said. “Your neck is easily 171/2 inches. If you go around wearing a size 16 neck, you’re going to have terrible headaches, ringing ears and inability to catch your breath!” Here’s our problem: we don’t feel like we should

Rooted in Betrayal

Rooted in Betrayal

This sermon is based on John 12:1-15. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Elie Wiesel once remarked, “God made man because He loves stories.” When you think of all the stories in the Bible, you may be convinced that Wiesel is absolutely right. There are stories everywhere in the Bible! There are stories about sin, about grace, about faith, about a lack of faith, about courage and hope and heartbreak There are origin stories, war stories, love stories, disturbing stories, and funny stories. There are stories about heroes and failures, about kings and ordinary people, about men and women and stories about good and evil. And that barely scratches the surface because the Bible is filled with stories. In fact, the Bible would be a very short book if it wasn’t

Impossible Questions, Part 1

Impossible Questions, Part 1

Impossible questions come and go, but asking God, “Why?” lasts forever. And to prove this, a few days ago a friend asked the “why” question: “If there is a God and he is good, why would he allow this pandemic?” Today, in this blog post, I want to answer that “why” question with a definitive answer that details what God is up to. I want to, I really do, but I can’t. No one can. It’s an impossible question. Now, that is not to say that we cannot say a few things that might be helpful to us as we wrestle with this question. I can’t answer “why,” but I hope I can give some guidance that will help us navigate these strange waters. First, remember while things today are bad, if the truth be told, things have always been bad. To gain some perspective and wisdom, let’s go back