Words of Welcome

1 Corinthians 13:1-13     With a sermon title like this, you’d think it was Valentine’s Day!   But that’s still a couple of weeks off.  Or, maybe you think I’m going to talk about an old “Huey Lewis and the News” song from the 1980s.  But, again you’d be wrong – in part because I probably wouldn’t have thought of the song, except Chris Cartwright asked last Sunday if I was going to talk about it in my sermon!   So, even if it’s not Valentine’s Day, and I’m not talking about an old pop song from a movie about time travel in a Delorean car, the questions remain: what is love and what is its power?     I think you will agree with me that the word love can have a lot of different meanings.  It can speak of romance, but not always.  So, when I say “I love you” to Cheryl, hopefully that means something different from saying “I love the San Francisco Giants” or “I love pizza.”   Love has to do with feelings and emotions, but feelings and emotions can be fickle and fleeting.  You can fall d

    Nehemiah 8:1-10     Legend has it that when I was a very young child I would stand up in my crib and  preach.  I'd shake my finger and prattle away, speaking to no one in particular.  I can't say that I was a great preacher in those days, but I did make an impression on my grandmother.  She told my mother: “Someday Bob will be a preacher.”  Now, I can't confirm this story since my memory doesn't go back that far, but if it’s true, I hope the quality of my preaching has improved!    It’s one thing to preach from a crib and another to preach from a pulpit.  In fact, it  does take a bit of audacity to be a preacher.  Take for instance Barbara Brown Taylor’s comparison of a preacher to a tight rope walker:      Watching a preacher climb into the pulpit is a lot like watching a tight rope walker climb onto the platform as the drum roll begins.  The first clears her throat and spreads her notes; the second loosens his shoulders and stretches out one rosin-soled foot

    Isaiah 62:1-5     A bride always stands out at a wedding, overshadowing even the groom. Perhaps that’s because the bride is simply more beautiful than the groom.  Because of this, no one pays much attention when the groom and his attendants enter the sanctuary with little or no fanfare.  But, when the bride's maids enter the sanctuary, the crowd grows quiet and attentive, because they know that the real show is about to begin, and the person they’ve all come to see is about to enter the room.  When the appropriate music begins, the crowd turns around and watches expectantly, hoping to get a good look at the bride as she walks down the aisle in all her glory.  Watching her enter the room with much pomp and circumstance, the audience “oohs and aahs” at her beauty, her splendor, and her radiance.  Yes, bedecked in her flowing white gown, a dress  she’ll likely wear only once at great cost to her family, it’s quite apparent that she’s the star of the show.       Now, when the g

Ephesians 1:3-14     The Christmas season is drawing to a close.  In fact, we will take down the Christmas decorations after the service, even though technically the season of Christmas doesn’t end until Tuesday.  By my count, this is the tenth day of Christmas, and so my true love should give me “ten lords a leaping.”  Now, I don’t know what I would do with them, should Cheryl decide to give me this gift, but, according to the song, that’s what’s on tap for today!      While the decorations and the celebrations of the Christmas season are wonderful, a new year has begun, and so it’s time to get on with the journey.  That is the message of the song we will close worship with this morning, that great song of Epiphany:     O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright,     Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.                              (John Hopkins, Chalice Hymnal 172) As we begin this new year, heading toward God’s perfect ligh