Giving Thanks, God’s Will and the Gift of Great Perspective

Carl Sandburg, the great American writer, tells a story of when he was in university. His roommate was unable to go home for the holidays, and so Sandberg invited him to come to his house. As Sandberg introduced his roommate to his hard-of-hearing aunt, he announced, "Auntie, I want you to meet my roommate, Al Specknoodle!" The aunt cupped her ear and shook her head. Carl tried again, "I want you to meet my roommate, Al Specknoodle!" The aunt frowned and shook her head again. Carl sputtered and shouted, "Al Specknoodle, my roommate!" Finally the aunt turned away and said, "It's no use, Carl. No matter how many times you say it, it still sounds like Al Specknoodle!" No matter how many times I have read Paul’s command to give thanks in all circumstances, it still sounds strange.  I don’t think I am hard-hearted, but giving thanks in all circumstances

The Meaningful Life: A Life Overflowing with Gratitude

This sermon is based on Psalm 107:1-9, 42-43 and concludes our series, "CHOOSE." You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: A sermon series on the meaning of life? That sounds awfully philosophical. Who wants weeks and weeks of Sartre saying, “Existence precedes essence”? It also seems extremely impractical because if Woody Allen is right, then “The meaning of life is that nobody knows the meaning of life.” And wouldn’t any answer that we give, be rather simplistic? What was it that Paul Scofield said: “Sixty-four thousand dollars for a question? I hope they are asking you the meaning of life!” And on top of all that, it sounds depressing. Kurt Vonnegut was right: “Plato says that the unexamined life is not worth living. But what if the examined life turns out to be a clunker, as well?” In short, it sounds like

Don’t Waste This Time (Part 1)

Paul writes in Ephesians 5 (16-17): “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Now, I don’t know what Paul’s voice sounded like, but I do know that I really like Joni Mitchell’s voice. And even though Paul may have said it better, I would still rather hear Mitchell sing it. See, it is her words (Sorry, Paul!) that I first hear when I realize that I have missed a golden opportunity: Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got til it’s gone. They paved paradise And put up a parking lot. To be perfectly honest, Mitchell wasn’t as concerned about opportunities missed as she was about how people were treating environment (“They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum / And they charged all the people

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