Preached on April 22, 2007 at PLWC.
Reading: Genesis 18:16-23; Ephesians 1:3-6
The book of Ephesians is a good place to begin if you want to learn more about what the church is supposed to do and be. We're going to spend the next few weeks working out of Ephesians, then, because it's important that we learn how we as a community are expected to live after Easter.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Life After Easter
Preached on April 15, 2007 at PLWC.
Reading: Isaiah 53:7-12; Matthew 28:16-20
This week's sermon is the beginning of a series of sermons where we try to cope with Easter. Things are different now than they were before Easter, and if we're living lives that don't show that difference, then we need to ask why we're not different.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Reading: Isaiah 53:7-12; Matthew 28:16-20
This week's sermon is the beginning of a series of sermons where we try to cope with Easter. Things are different now than they were before Easter, and if we're living lives that don't show that difference, then we need to ask why we're not different.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Short on Explanations
Preached on Easter morning, April 8, 2007, at PLWC.
Reading: Luke 24:1-12; John 11:17-27, 45-46, 53
Last week was a busy one for sermons, since I got to preach for both Good Friday and Easter. For this Easter sermon I focused on the sheer audacity of Jesus' resurrection: we can theologize and debate and prevaricate and ignore all we want, but when it comes down to brass tacks, there's a guy who used to be dead who isn't dead anymore and hasn't died for the last two thousand years. What do we do with that?
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Reading: Luke 24:1-12; John 11:17-27, 45-46, 53
Last week was a busy one for sermons, since I got to preach for both Good Friday and Easter. For this Easter sermon I focused on the sheer audacity of Jesus' resurrection: we can theologize and debate and prevaricate and ignore all we want, but when it comes down to brass tacks, there's a guy who used to be dead who isn't dead anymore and hasn't died for the last two thousand years. What do we do with that?
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
No Surprises
Preached on Good Friday, April 6, 2007 at Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic Church in Pocono Pines, PA (Pocono Ecumenical Good Friday service).
Reading: Hebrews 10:16-25
I was privileged to be able to preach at Our Lady of the Lake RCC for Good Friday before a congregation of people assembled from four or five churches, an honor for which I was selected because I was the newest member of the ecumenical council. The service was centered on the Stations of the Cross, something of which us Protestants are mostly ignorant (to our loss). It was a great opportunity, not only because I enjoy preaching, but also because it was a chance to worship with fellow Christians of other congregations. We don't do enough of that, but that's a whole other diatribe...
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Reading: Hebrews 10:16-25
I was privileged to be able to preach at Our Lady of the Lake RCC for Good Friday before a congregation of people assembled from four or five churches, an honor for which I was selected because I was the newest member of the ecumenical council. The service was centered on the Stations of the Cross, something of which us Protestants are mostly ignorant (to our loss). It was a great opportunity, not only because I enjoy preaching, but also because it was a chance to worship with fellow Christians of other congregations. We don't do enough of that, but that's a whole other diatribe...
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Spring Flowers
Spring seems to be giving serious thought to visiting the Poconos, so the crocuses are beginning to bloom...
Purple Crocuses
I've been quite pleased with some of the shots I've gotten with my little off-the-shelf Sony Cyber-Shot. It's definitely no D200, but it usually does what I need it to.
Purple CrocusesI've been quite pleased with some of the shots I've gotten with my little off-the-shelf Sony Cyber-Shot. It's definitely no D200, but it usually does what I need it to.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Christians and their liberty
I'm not sure why, but monthly issues of Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal have been showing up in the mailbox here at the parsonage ever since we moved in. If you're not familiar with NLJ, it's a newspaper published by Jerry Falwell and affiliated with Liberty University (which was founded by Falwell), and it makes no effort to hide its Christian evangelical fundamentalist position on the issues. It's an interesting read, regardless of your political persuasions, and glancing through some of the articles in this last issue got me thinking. If you're interested in the details, I'll let you track down the NLJ's website on your own, but what caught my attention was this:
-there are roughly thirty articles in this issue of the newspaper
-of those articles, at least five specifically involve Christians taking legal action against institutions (courts, schools, governments) with regard to the protection of their practice of Christianity
-one implicitly calls for a boycott of the forthcoming Presidential $1 coins, which have "In God We Trust" inscribed on the coin's edge rather than its face
-and one points out that the College of William and Mary suffered a withdrawal of $12 million in donations when it removed a cross from its chapel
Just to clarify, those five articles dealing with the legal action are in response to things like students being banned from washing each others' feet (a common Christian ritual) and a school removing language referring to God in its yearbook.
Setting the morality or legality of the actions of those institutions aside for the moment, I find myself wondering about the motivations of the people in those institutions. Are they doing these things, seemingly attacking Christianity and indeed Christians, because they're controlled by demonic forces? Or are they such staunch atheists that they want to destroy all religion? Or are they participants in a strong but minority agenda in our nation that seeks to tear down the body of Christ?
Or, just for the sake of argument, do they attack Christianity because they fear what they perceive as a rise in militant political Christian extremism -- not the sort that is going to resort to terrorism, but the sort that believes the American government exists as its tool for securing its beliefs in the nation at large?
Now, where would they get an idea like that? Why would they think Christians are the sort of people to pose a threat?
Could it be because some Christians resort to boycotts to get their way? Or take people to court when they think their rights are being stepped on? Or call on people to withdraw funding from things they don't like?
Hmmm.
-there are roughly thirty articles in this issue of the newspaper
-of those articles, at least five specifically involve Christians taking legal action against institutions (courts, schools, governments) with regard to the protection of their practice of Christianity
-one implicitly calls for a boycott of the forthcoming Presidential $1 coins, which have "In God We Trust" inscribed on the coin's edge rather than its face
-and one points out that the College of William and Mary suffered a withdrawal of $12 million in donations when it removed a cross from its chapel
Just to clarify, those five articles dealing with the legal action are in response to things like students being banned from washing each others' feet (a common Christian ritual) and a school removing language referring to God in its yearbook.
Setting the morality or legality of the actions of those institutions aside for the moment, I find myself wondering about the motivations of the people in those institutions. Are they doing these things, seemingly attacking Christianity and indeed Christians, because they're controlled by demonic forces? Or are they such staunch atheists that they want to destroy all religion? Or are they participants in a strong but minority agenda in our nation that seeks to tear down the body of Christ?
Or, just for the sake of argument, do they attack Christianity because they fear what they perceive as a rise in militant political Christian extremism -- not the sort that is going to resort to terrorism, but the sort that believes the American government exists as its tool for securing its beliefs in the nation at large?
Now, where would they get an idea like that? Why would they think Christians are the sort of people to pose a threat?
Could it be because some Christians resort to boycotts to get their way? Or take people to court when they think their rights are being stepped on? Or call on people to withdraw funding from things they don't like?
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you.
Whoever exalts himself or herself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself or herself will be exalted.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you; if someone strikes you on one cheek, give him the other as well; if he takes your cloak, give him your tunic also.
"Vengeance is mine," says the Lord.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you.
Whoever exalts himself or herself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself or herself will be exalted.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you; if someone strikes you on one cheek, give him the other as well; if he takes your cloak, give him your tunic also.
"Vengeance is mine," says the Lord.
Hmmm.
Not an Everyday Party
Preached on April 1, 2007 at PLWC.
Reading: Deuteronomy 16:1, 5-8; Matthew 21:1-11
Sorry there wasn't a sermon posted last week, but Carey and I were out of town over the weekend. This Sunday, though, was Palm Sunday, so we're marking the beginning of our Holy Week celebrations with a sermon on the spiritual disciplines of worship and celebration.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Reading: Deuteronomy 16:1, 5-8; Matthew 21:1-11
Sorry there wasn't a sermon posted last week, but Carey and I were out of town over the weekend. This Sunday, though, was Palm Sunday, so we're marking the beginning of our Holy Week celebrations with a sermon on the spiritual disciplines of worship and celebration.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
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