Words of Welcome

Ephesians 5:15-20 I. The Call to Sing Praises to the Lord Do you know what is great about church? It doesn’t matter whether you’re tone deaf or a professional singer, you get to sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord! In Ephesians we hear this admonition: Be filled with the Spirit and “make melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Psalmist also invites us to praise the Lord. Listen to the invitation found in the 150th Psalm, as it appears in The Message: Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, Praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, Praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, Praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, Praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathi

John 6:51-58 On Monday nights, Guy Fieri takes us on a road trip to all the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ” across the land that serve great food, at great prices, but without the frills. While Cheryl thinks that he just goes to greasy burger joints, that’s not entirely true. Yes, he does go to places that like to deep-fry things, but he also goes to some rather surprising places – like a drive-in in Boise that serves prime rib, or a place down on Woodward Avenue called the Fly Trap that’s known for its Asian cuisine. The Food Channel , which carries Guy’s show, exists because we like to eat, and as Alton Brown puts it on his show, we like “ Good Eats!” Now, I’m not sure what either Guy or Alton would make of this morning’s text. I’m not sure that Alton Brown would declare Jesus’ offer of himself as true food and drink to be Good Eats. While Jesus told the tempter that there’s more to life than bread, bread is still an important biblical image. In John 6 Jesus tells us that he is tru

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 The first stanza of the gospel song “Living for Jesus”goes like this: “Living for Jesus a life that is true, striving to please him in all that I do; yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free, this is the pathway of blessing for me.” This song gives a good basic definition of what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is nothing more and nothing less than a follower of Jesus. And, if we’re going to live for Jesus, then Jesus should come first in our lives. When we say Jesus is Lord, which according to Paul we can only say by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3), then nothing, not family, not friends, not nation, not one’s job, can take first place in our lives. This isn’t an easy demand to fulfill, which is why Paul said that it takes the Holy Spirit. Singing the song is one thing, but following through is another. The text for today says rather bluntly: “Don’t live like the Gentiles.” As you hear this word, it’s helpful to remember that the reci