Words of Welcome

  Romans 8:12-25 This past week we experienced a heat dome that raised temperatures to more than 100 degrees, followed by a blast of the worst air in the world due to Canadian forest fires. Of course, a power outage led to the cancellation of the service on July 5th. In other words, we haven’t been experiencing the most pleasant weather of late.  I’m not sure if Paul had weather-related issues in mind when he wrote here in Romans 8 about the groaning of creation, but it does seem that creation has been groaning because the spirit of death and corruption is permeating creation.  Paul tells us that creation groans because it is waiting to be set free from its bondage to decay. You might say, that Creation is waiting for its redemption so it can start over from the beginning. According to Genesis 1 when God set about creating the universe, God declared that each element of creation was good, including God’s human creation. Unfortunately, things began to go bad in chap...

  Isaiah 55:10-13; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Every spring I sow grass seed to fix the barren spots in the lawn. Sometimes the seed does its job and grass appears where it’s supposed to appear; but not always. Some of that seed falls on ground that doesn’t want to produce any new grass, no matter what I do to the soil. Then there’s the grass that makes a home in unintended spots, like in the middle of my flower garden. I don’t know if it’s the seeds or the soil, but either one seems to have a mind of its own. In our Gospel reading this morning from Matthew 13, we encounter Jesus sitting in a boat anchored on the Sea of Galilee because a large crowd gathered to hear him teach. This chapter offers us several well-known parables, some of which Pastor Dan is going to explore, along with Matthew’s explanation of why Jesus used parables in his teaching about the kingdom of God. While we often think Jesus used parables to illustrate his sermons because the people could better understand ...

  Romans 7:15-25a Have you ever done something you know is wrong but can’t figure out why you do it? I’m not thinking here of exceeding the speed limit, which almost everyone does. But if you struggle with doing the right thing, Paul understands your predicament. Even St. Paul found himself doing things he knew were wrong. While the Law, which is spiritual, can let us know what is right and what is wrong, it can’t help us overcome our tendency to do the things we know are wrong. So what should we do?  Now, the fact that we know the difference between right and wrong means that the law is good. Although Paul points out that the Law doesn’t have the power to help us fulfill its requirements, I think he would agree at least in part with this word from Psalm 19: The law of the Lord is perfect,  reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure,  making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right,  rejoicing the heart; the commandment...