2021 May

An Ordinary Conversation

An Ordinary Conversation

This sermon is based on John 4:4-26. 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: Some moments are ordinary, maybe even boring, definitely easily forgettable; but then there are the ones that endure in our memories forever. Those extraordinary moments are what make life rich and all the more so when they come out of nowhere. Jesus is at a dull and failing wedding; nothing to remember here. The disciples are plodding along on yet another boring boat. Not much can happen here that hasn’t happened to them a thousand times before. There’s a shared meal going on. It should be fun, but once again everyone is jockeying for their place at the table and fighting over status—truly boring. All of these are ordinary moments rated D for “Dull,” but then Jesus touches

A Prayer and an Address

A Prayer and an Address

Fireflies. I love them. I love seeing them light up in the dark as they flitter around in my backyard. But here’s some troubling news. Fireflies are misnamed. No matter what we say, fireflies are not flies. They are beetles. But I promise you, even if fireflies did nothing different and were just as enlightening and sweet as they are now, but we had to call them firebeetles, I would hate them with a passion. And while we are at it, Koala bears are not bears; they are marsupials. Now, I don’t care if they misnamed the Koala because of marketing; it is misleading. I would suggest that we throw whoever is responsible for this misrepresentation to some grizzlies so he (or she) can know what a true bear looks like. And let’s talk desserts. I don’t care what they say. Boston cream pie is definitely a cake, and cheesecake

An Ordinary Voyage

An Ordinary Voyage

This sermon is based on Mark 6:45-52. 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: Some moments are ordinary, maybe even boring, definitely easily forgettable; but then there are the ones that endure in our memories forever. Those extraordinary moments are what make life rich and all the more so when they come out of nowhere. Jesus is at a dull and failing wedding; nothing to remember here. The disciples are plodding along on yet another boring boat. Not much can happen here that hasn’t happened to them a thousand times before. There’s a shared meal going on. It should be fun, but once again everyone is jockeying for their place at the table and fighting over status—truly boring. All of these are ordinary moments rated D for “Dull,” but then Jesus touches

A Prayer for a Proper Diagnosis

A Prayer for a Proper Diagnosis

Suppose you lived in the ancient world and were suffering from a toothache. With no local dentists nearby, you had to find another health-care solution (and even if there was another option, you don’t want to know what people were doing to bring relief to toothaches back then!). Enter the doctrine of “signatures”! When suffering from a particular ailment, it was thought that the solution would often look like the problem. That’s right, it was believed that God, in creating the world, gave us hints as to what curative effect each plant or herb had by shaping said plant so that it looked like the human organ it was made to heal. So, if you have a problem with your brain (and who doesn’t?) or needed a little brain boost before taking your SAT’s, the best thing you could eat is walnuts because the meat of the walnut looks like

A Dull Wedding

A Dull Wedding

This sermon introduces our new teaching series and is based on John 2:1-10. 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: Some moments are ordinary, maybe even boring, definitely easily forgettable; but then there are the ones that endure in our memories forever. Those extraordinary moments are what make life rich and all the more so when they come out of nowhere. Jesus is at a dull and failing wedding; nothing to remember here. The disciples are plodding along on yet another boring boat. Not much can happen here that hasn’t happened to them a thousand times before. There’s a shared meal going on. It should be fun, but once again everyone is jockeying for their place at the table and fighting over status—truly boring. All of these are ordinary moments rated D

A Prayer with All the Fixings

A Prayer with All the Fixings

Let’s fix time. I’ve told you this story before; but I think it is a hoot, so, you get to hear it again. One day, Julius Caesar decided he had to fix the calendar. Before his time, all calendars were based on the lunar cycle. But the lunar calendar was 11 days shorter than a solar calendar. In an attempt to fix things, the time police mandated the addition of an extra leap month to the calendar at the end of every three years. Suffice it to say, that it wasn’t long before Julius Caesar had enough of those sort of time shenanigans and decided that the time was right for a completely new calendar, one that was based solely on the sun. The result of this Julian calendar was that the year was now comprised of 365 ¼ days and would start in January and not in March. (March

When in Romans, Remember, God Uses Women To Do Extraordinary Things

When in Romans, Remember, God Uses Women To Do Extraordinary Things

This sermon concludes our series and is based on Romans 16:1-16. 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: A few months ago, I let my dark secret slip: Romans is close to being my least favorite book in the Bible (Nahum may be less appealing, but just barely). People were mortified when they heard this. Worse, they were bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I could have said I was a member of the Communist Party and received less questions (and less prayers for my salvation). After all, how could anyone NOT love Romans? Its theological argument flows so logically. It was the book that led Luther to rediscover salvation by grace alone. The “Roman Road” has led many seekers to Christ. And Romans is not only Paul’s gospel, but it may be the

A Prayer for Grace and Protection

A Prayer for Grace and Protection

Angela Carter said, “Comedy is a tragedy that happens to other people.” That truism is wonderfully illustrated by the story of Aeschylus (525-456 BC). Aeschylus was a famous Greek playwright who wrote more than 70 plays, but tragically, only 7 have survived. He is known in dramatic circles as the “father of tragedy.” But tragically, that is not why I remember him. I remember him because he died a tragic death that may also be perceived as rather funny. Pliny the Elder was also a famous author (although he was Roman and not Greek). Pliny wrote an encyclopedia-like work of scientific discoveries that we now know as pure bunk, but contained such famous quotes as “Fortune favors the brave,” and “The only certainty is that nothing is certain,” and “Home is where the heart is.” It also contained the sad tale of the death of Aeschylus. The tale recounts how

When in Romans, Live by the Spirit

When in Romans, Live by the Spirit

This sermon is based on Romans 8:9-17. 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: A few months ago, I let my dark secret slip: Romans is close to being my least favorite book in the Bible (Nahum may be less appealing, but just barely). People were mortified when they heard this. Worse, they were bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I could have said I was a member of the Communist Party and received less questions (and less prayers for my salvation). After all, how could anyone NOT love Romans? Its theological argument flows so logically. It was the book that led Luther to rediscover salvation by grace alone. The “Roman Road” has led many seekers to Christ. And Romans is not only Paul’s gospel, but it may be the best articulation of the