2020 October

METAPHORS: Part 4–Disrupters

METAPHORS: Part 4–Disrupters

I love walks. I call them hikes (it sounds more daring); but if push came to shove, I would say a hike is just a walk in the woods. I also love Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard said, “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. If one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.” Almost every day, our dog Ragna and I go hiking in Patapsco State Park; and when I am on a hike, life cannot be much better. But imagine walking down the sidewalk. It’s a nice day and you have little on your mind except that you want to enjoy life by taking a leisurely stroll. Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone or something kicks you in the seat of your pants. You immediately turn around to see who dared

Who Are You?

Who Are You?

This sermon introduces this series and is based on Romans 12:1-2. 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: “The Who” (yeah, “The Who” from way back when) had a song with these great lyrics, “Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Oh, I really want to know. . . . Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” (I always liked the “who, who, who, who” part).” Now, I used to think that was an easy question to answer. I don’t know much, but at least, I knew who I was. I’m me. But now, I’m not so sure. Some want to say I am just chemicals operating in a Dane head. Some want to say I am a pleasure-seeking animal. Some want to say I am a rational mind (that can’t be

METAPHORS: Part 3–Spiritual Midwives

METAPHORS: Part 3–Spiritual Midwives

If I had to choose, give me Jimmy Stewart in Call Northside 777, or even Bob Hope in Call Me Bwana or the classic, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs with Sidney Poitier. I would also be happy with A Fish Called Wanda or the great Swedish movie (based on the book), A Man Called Ove. And if push came to shove, I would also agree to An Inspector Calls or The Call of the Wild or Better Call Saul or even Total Recall. I would agree to any of these, but please don’t make me watch Call the Midwife. Now Jo really enjoys Call the Midwife, and I am sure there will be people reading this who will side with Jo on this one (so what else is new?); but really, who wants to watch a group of overworked and overwrought nuns running around rescuing desperate women and delivering babies

Some Truly Good News about Jesus

Some Truly Good News about Jesus

This sermon concludes our series and is based on John 11:17-44. 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: During the early days of the pandemic, John Krasinski produced a web series that brought good news to people when good news was in short supply. It was great, but it was a long time ago. There is a lot of bad news out there—pandemics, wildfires, hurricanes, racism, injustice, poverty, huge chunks of Greenland falling into the ocean, things like that. And unfortunately, there are many more things like that. And many of these things are causing people to question God’s goodness and to doubt that God exists. And that can’t be good. What we need today is some good news to counteract all this bad news so that our faith will be encouraged

METAPHORS: Part 2–Physicians of the Soul

METAPHORS: Part 2–Physicians of the Soul

Harry Potter is evil. I’m sorry, I meant to say that Severus Snape in the Harry Potter books is evil. All along we had hoped that Snape was Dumbledore’s friend; that while acting suspiciously, he was, in fact, in Dumbledore’s circle and not in the employee of “he who should not be named” (but I think his name is Voldemort). But in a crisis moment, when Dumbledore is surrounded by enemies, Dumbledore cries out, saying, “Severus, please. . . .”; but Snape doesn’t help. Instead, he kills Dumbledore. The weasel! (Sorry, I forgot to say “spoiler alert” before I told the story!). Now, such a betrayal is unconscionable, but I guess with a name like Snape, you’re destined to be evil. But, a funny thing happens. In the last Harry Potter book, (spoiler alert!) we discover we had it all backwards! Harry extracts memories from Snape’s dying mind and discovers

METAPHORS: Part 1–Rocks and the Scale

METAPHORS: Part 1–Rocks and the Scale

I love rocks. There are, right now, in my study, within my reach (although I may have to stand up for some), 37 rocks that I can touch (add 22 more if you will allow me to take two steps). Now, some of these rocks are decorations; but many of them, I use. Some hold down pages of books. Some give me inspiration (but you have to hold those rocks just right) and some reduce stress. But some are just to have and to hold. Now, the bigger rocks are assigned a part in my stone walls (I know . . . I live in Maryland, but I have two New England stone walls). So, the rocks in my study are all generally the size of a softball or smaller. I have rocks from China, Nova Scotia, Sweden, Norway and rocks from various states. To be honest, if I go

Some Truly Good News about Truth

Some Truly Good News about Truth

This sermon is based on John 14:1-6. 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: During the early days of the pandemic, John Krasinski produced a web series that brought good news to people when good news was in short supply. It was great, but it was a long time ago. There is a lot of bad news out there—pandemics, wildfires, hurricanes, racism, injustice, poverty, huge chunks of Greenland falling into the ocean, things like that. And unfortunately, there are many more things like that. And many of these things are causing people to question God’s goodness and to doubt that God exists. And that can’t be good. What we need today is some good news to counteract all this bad news so that our faith will be encouraged and we will be