Words of Welcome

  Hebrews 12:18-29 There’s an old Jerry Lee Lewis song that goes back before my time, which describes what it feels like to go through an earthquake. "There's a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on." I don’t know if you’ve experienced an earthquake, but having lived in Southern California, I’ve experienced a few of them. Fortunately, I’ve lived far enough away from the epicenters that while I experienced a bit of shaking, it wasn’t too frightening. However, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law did experience a whole lot of shaking from the 1989 Santa Cruz earthquake. They were at Candlestick Park, getting ready to watch the World Series, when the quake struck. They decided not to go back when the Series resumed, so I got to go to the make up game along with my father-in-law. When you live in California, earthquakes are part of life, just like tornadoes in Kansas and hurricanes in Florida.    Earthquakes are mysterious and dangerous. You never know when they’ll strike, but e...

  Hebrews 11:29-12:2 “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” We often hear this saying before a tough race, game, or big decision. It’s supposed to serve as a word of encouragement when we feel like giving up in the face of difficult challenges. It speaks of the importance of persistence and perseverance.  Here in our reading from the Book of Hebrews, the author encourages us to persevere as we race toward the finish line.     I’m not a runner. I’ve never run a marathon or a 5K. Even when I was in my best shape, a long time ago, I wasn’t very fast, nor did I have the stamina to run a long-distance race. Nevertheless, I did live in Eugene, Oregon, which is known as Track Town USA. The famous marathoner Alberto Salazar was on the University of Oregon track team at the same time I was a student at a little college next door. I even got to attend the 1980 Olympic Trials that were held in Eugene. So, even though I’ve never run track, I feel like I know...

  Luke 12:32-40 Do you worry about what’s going on in the world and how it affects your life? Are you concerned about your security and safety? Do you make sure your doors to your home and cars are locked? Do you have a Ring camera so you can see who is at the front door?  While we might be concerned about such things, Jesus doesn’t seem to share our concerns. Here in Luke 12, Jesus tells his followers not to be afraid because God is going to give the kingdom to them. If we step back a few verses, we hear Jesus tell his followers not to worry about life because worrying won’t add even a single hour to their lifespan (Luke 12:22-31 ). Perhaps the reason Jesus warned against worrying about life is that he advocated living a very simple life. The problem with this warning is that my lifestyle is much too complicated. I have accumulated way too much stuff, which can cause anxiety. Now, some things are essential to living a good life; things like my books. I can’t live withou...

  Colossians 3:1-14 Mark Twain famously said that “Clothes make the man.” Even in this more casual era, clothes still stand for something. There are times when we need to purchase a new set of clothes. It could be that our old clothes no longer fit, or we’re attending a big event that requires a clothing upgrade. After all, we don’t want to be underdressed! In his Colossian letter, Paul speaks of stripping off the old self and clothing ourselves with the new self. He directs this word to people who exchanged their old pagan ways for a new life in Christ through baptism. At least as early as the second century, baptisms took place after a lengthy period of instruction. Then on the day baptisms took place, the candidates would strip off their old clothes before entering the baptismal. When they came out the other side, they received a new set of clothes to symbolize their new life in Christ. This exchange of old clothes for a new set represents the change of lifestyle that ac...

  Galatians 6:1-16 When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian church early in his ministry, he was trying to bring Gentiles into a community rooted in Judaism. One of the defining elements of Jewish identity was circumcision. Some of the Jewish members of the community argued that Gentiles should be circumcised before entering the church. Since this was a stumbling block to Gentiles, who wished to enter the community, Paul argued that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mattered because “the new creation is everything.” Since the new creation is rooted in God’s grace, this physical marker was unnecessary. The sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers a summary of previous topics, while I’m tempted to cover all of them, I promise not to do so. This chapter in Paul’s Galatian letter follows his discussion of the fruit of the Spirit. He closes chapter 5 by telling the Galatians: “If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. Let’s not become arrogant, make ea...

  Romans 5:1-5 According to the liturgical calendar, today is Trinity Sunday. On a Sunday like this, we get to reflect on who God is. As history has proven, finding an answer to the question “who is God” has proven difficult. The Creeds define God as being one in substance but at the same time three persons. The first verse of our opening hymn declares:  Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning  our song shall rise to thee. Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity! At least since the fourth century, the majority of Christians have affirmed that definition of God’s nature, even if we still struggle to make sense of our confession. So, if you don’t completely understand the ins and outs of the Trinity, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Nevertheless, together with the majority of Christians throughout history, we proclaim that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This morning, we have heard a reading from the...

Romans 8:14-17 It is written that on the Day of Pentecost, the streets of Jerusalem were filled with pilgrims celebrating one of Judaism’s most important festivals. At the same time, one hundred and fifty of Jesus’ closest followers gathered for prayer in an upper room in that very same city. This gathering took place just ten days after Jesus departed from his disciples. At that time, Jesus commissioned his disciples to take the gospel message to the ends of the earth. However, they would need to wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them ( Acts 1:8 ). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit swept through the upper room like a mighty wind and rested on each of them like a flame of fire. Then the Spirit empowered them to preach the Gospel in the diverse languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem ( Acts 2 ). With the coming of the Spirit, the church’s missional calling went into action.  This morning, I decided to set aside the reading from Acts...