Words of Welcome

Psalm 116:12-19 "There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; There’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty." (F.W. Faber, Chalice, 73) This is good news. We serve a God who is gracious and compassionate and we get to celebrate that grace and compassion, that mercy and kindness, as we come together for worship. The ancient Israelites held great Fall festivals to give thanks for God’s wondrous bounty and sing songs like the one in Psalm 116. They thanked God for the bounty of the harvest and for hearing their cries when they were going through difficult times, like when death and anguish were their lot in life. These songs remind us that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. And so, we join the Psalmist in asking: "What can I give back to God, for the blessings he’s poured out on me?" (116:12 MSG). Growing Faith and Giving Thanks Giving back to God takes faith, and faith, as Hebrews says, is "the assurance of thing

2 Timothy 3:10-17 Books are meant to be read, and if we read the Bible we put ourselves in a position to hear God speak from its pages. Although the Bible is the best-selling book of all time, it may also be the least read best seller of all time. People buy Bibles for all kinds of reasons. I’ve heard they make nice decorations and good gifts. Back when I was in seminary, working for a Christian bookstore, I sold Bibles. Now, selling Bibles was easier twenty-five years ago than it is today. That’s because there were fewer translations and fewer editions of those translations to offer people. Now there are probably thirty or forty different options for the New International Version alone. While I enjoyed selling Bibles, I’ve been known to talk people out of buying them. It’s not that I don’t want people to own Bibles, I’d just like them to get a Bible they’ll use. On one occasion a lady came into the store looking for a white Bible. I asked her why she wanted a white Bible, and she said

Mark 10:17-31 Time magazine recently ran a cover story that asked the question: "Does God want you to be Rich?" Apparently a growing number of preachers are giving this question an affirmative answer. Houston’s Joel Osteen is just the latest preacher to promise prosperity to those who will just believe. But, the question is: What am I supposed to believe in? God or money? I remember going to a rally at a church many years ago for a certain unnamed soap distributor. The organizers hoped to get us all jazzed up to sell and buy products by promising us more material blessings. And so we shouted out words of praise to money. So what does God want for us? Apparently 61% of us think God wants us to be rich and prosperous, which may be why Osteen and his fellow preachers are so popular. Just believe and you’ll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Now, I believe that attitude is important and that a positive attitude will take you a long way in life, but that’s different from equating beli

Mark 10:2-12 We’re broken people living in a broken world. That’s not a message we like to hear, but it’s true. Marriages, families, relationships, communities, nations, the world itself, seem to be broken. Like a virus that eats away at our inner being, every aspect of human life is vulnerable to this malignancy of the human spirit, including the most intimate of human relationships. It’s no secret that marriage is an institution in distress. Divorce rates continue to rise, while young people either delay marriage or give up on it entirely. By today’s standards the twenty-three years Cheryl and I have been married is a long time. Of course, that’s nothing compared to those of you who’ve been married fifty years or more. I doubt I have any words of wisdom to offer anyone about how to keep a happy marriage, but I do know that every relationship, even the best ones, have their bumps in the road. I wish I could tell you with a straight face that Cheryl and I have never argued or disagreed

Mark 9:38-41 Cheryl grew up a Giants fan, but during college she succumbed to the ways of darkness and became a Dodger fan. I don’t know how this happened, but it did. After we started dating, we went to a Giants-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium and each of us wore a different cap. She wore her Dodger cap, and I wore my Giants cap. It’s amazing that a relationship could blossom in such a situation. I mean, how can a Giants fan and Dodger fan live together in peace? Now I must say that in time Cheryl repented of her sins and returned to the fold and now she’s once again a Giant fan. But in the beginning, who would have thought that I could fall in love with a Dodger fan? After 9/11 President Bush drew a line in the sand and said: "You’re either with us or you’re against us." Apparently the President of Pakistan took that to mean. If you’re not with us, we’ll bomb you out of existence. Whatever the truth is in that exchange, it seems true that in the war on terror there isn’t any

Mark 9:30-37 Who’s the greatest? Is it Tiger Woods or Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens or LeBron James? Muhammad Ali said: "I am the Greatest; " But, hockey fans called Wayne Gretzky "The Great One." History calls leaders who aren’t content to live within inherited borders "the Great." They go out and risk what they have to get more. Alexander the Great was only twenty-one when he became king of Macedonia, but before he died of malaria twelve years later he’d built the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Along the way he defeated the mighty Persian empire and marched to India, planting cities and spreading Greek culture as he went. So, whether on the field of battle or on the floor of the stadium, the great ones are winners. If we’re honest, we want to be great too. Fame can be intoxicating and we love it when people tell us how great we are. It won’t do any good to deny it – we love the applause! Unfortunately fame can be fleeting. You can win the Super Bo

James 2:1-10 Punctuation makes all the difference in the world. A period says one thing, a question mark says another. That’s why English teachers will ding you for poor punctuation. They know how important punctuation is to good communication. This morning’s sermon title, includes two different forms of punctuation. It’s not that I don’t know which one to use. I did it to make a point. The meaning of the sermon title changes depending on which form of punctuation I use. An exclamation mark says something like: Come on in and enjoy the water. A question mark says something like: "I’m not sure you should join us. Someone might not think it proper." One message is inclusive and the other is not. PEW RENTS AND THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN WOMAN In search of safety, human beings tend to be exclusive. We like boundaries. But James says: don’t show partiality. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, black or white, a mansion dweller or a street person, if you come to church, you’re welcom