Words of Welcome

  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 When the Hubble telescope was set in place, it brought the vastness of the universe into focus in ways never before imagined. But, after it was deployed, the scientists working with the telescope discovered a flaw in the lens that made the image fuzzy. So, NASA launched a shuttle with a crew that could repair the telescope, making it possible to view the wonders of the universe with greater clarity.  I also know what it means to bring things into focus on a more personal level. That’s because every morning since I was in fourth grade, I put on my glasses so I can see the world with greater clarity than I can without them. Once upon a time, I might have been considered blind, but now, thanks to the science of optics I can see clearly!   In our reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he speaks about focusing on things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. He tells the Corinthians that what we see and experience with ...

  Genesis 12:1-4 The words bless, blessed, and blessing, appear regularly in the Bible. Jesus offers nine blessings to begin the Sermon on the Mount ( Mt 5:1-12 ). We find many words of blessing filling the Psalms. The same is true of the Book of Genesis. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that God blessed God’s human creation and then told them: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ( Gen. 1:28 ). This morning in our reading from Genesis 12 we hear God make a covenant of blessings with Abram, better known to us as Abraham. God tells Abram to pack up the family and head off to an unknown land. If Abram does this, God promises to bless him and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. The promise of blessings sounds good, but on the flip side, this promise involves quite a bit of risk on Abram’s part. Nevertheless, ...

  Psalm 27 Angelic and divine visitations in the biblical story often begin with the words: “Be not afraid.” That’s because heavenly visitations don’t happen every day, so they take us by surprise. The word we hear in Psalm 27 offers us a word of assurance in difficult times. The psalmist proclaims that God is our light and salvation. Therefore, “whom shall I fear?” Now, if we’re honest, aren’t we afraid of at least a few things? It might be spiders or snakes or heights, but fear is part of life. The question is, what do we do with our fears?   In my Christmas Eve meditation, I mentioned the story of Charlie Brown who pays a visit to Lucy’s psychiatrist booth because he’s feeling a bit depressed and doesn’t know why.  Lucy tries to diagnose Charlie Brown’s problem by naming a series of phobias that range from a fear of cats to climbing stairs. Finally, Lucy leans across the counter and asks Charlie Brown: “Do you have pantophobia ?” After she defines, “ pantophobia...

On the Way to Calvary - 15th century Huntington Library Romans 4:13-25 When we lived in Santa Barbara, we enjoyed hiking the canyons and hills behind the city. Some pathways were smooth and well-marked, while others cut across rock strewn creek beds. There were easy paths and more difficult ones. Such is the pathway of faith. It is often difficult to traverse, but the rewards are great. Our pathway of faith begins on the day that God invited Abraham and Sarah to pack their things and travel to a new land. God promised to make them a great nation, through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Abraham, who was still known as Abram, was a young man of seventy-five and his wife Sarai was just a few years younger when God’s call came. Why not set out on a new journey that will lead to descendants and blessings? (Gen. 12). A few chapters later, Abram had another conversation with God. He and Sarai are now a few years older, and they still didn’t see any signs of d...

Genesis 12:1-4 The word “bless” is found in some form nearly 600 times in the New Revised Standard Version. When I looked up the words we translate bless, blessed, and blessing in my Bible dictionary, I discovered that the Hebrew words speak of health, longevity, and fertility. I also discovered that it can be translated as flourishing. So, if you say “I’m blessed,” or “what a blessing,” is this what you mean?  When Bruce Barkhauer was with us, he spoke of a "thread of hope" running through Scripture, linking creation to new creation. I believe that there is also a "thread of blessing" running through scripture that connects the call of Abram to Jesus, and through Jesus we are connected to the realm of God.  This morning we heard God call Abram to leave his homeland and migrate to a new land so that God could make him and his descendants a great nation so that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him or because of him. All he had to do...

Genesis 18:1-8 Today we begin a conversation I call “Eating with Jesus.” It’s my contribution to our emphasis on the relationship of an Open Table to our call to Mission, which is being underwritten by a  Vital Worship grant  from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. While most of the sermons in this series will draw from the New Testament, I thought it might be good to start with a story from Genesis about the day that Abraham and Sarah welcomed God to their Table. To give a bit of New Testament support to my thesis, consider this word from Hebrews 13: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” ( Heb. 13:1 , CEB).

Genesis 15:1-11, 17-18 We worship a covenant-making God, and as Disciples of Christ we speak of the covenant relationship that binds congregations, regions, and the General Church to each other. Ronald Osborn was one of the leading figures in creating a restructured Disciples church, and he wrote:  In religion, in marriage, and in the life of a nation, a covenant is a sacred bond sealed with an oath or vow of allegiance. In the community of Christians the pledge is called a sacrament. A Christian swears faithfulness to God. God promises faithfulness to the church. This two-way pledge is seen most clearly in the Christian covenant sacraments of baptism and communion.   [ Faith We Affirm ,  p. 59] When God called on Abram and Sarai to leave their homeland and head toward a strange land, God promised to make them to be a great nation that would bless the rest of creation ( Genesis 12:1-3 ). Three chapters later, Abram is beginning to wonder whether God intends to...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Before leaving on my sabbatical, I preached a sermon from Genesis 12 entitled “Reclaiming a Founding Vision.”   In  Genesis 12  God covenants with Abraham and Sarah, promising to bless the nations through their descendants. That is, I believe, our founding vision.  In Christ we become children of Abraham so that we might be a blessing to the nations.   Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of religion that we forget our calling.  Fortunately, God remains faithful to this covenant, and has a way of rekindling that vision  in our hearts.  The title of that sermon, “Reclaiming a Founding Vision” served as theme of my sabbatical.  Since pastors are tempted to get focused on the mechanics of the institution rather than the vision that guides us a congregation, the sabbatical provided me the opportunity to remember and reclaim that vision for my life, so that I can lead this congregation in fulfilling our calli...

Genesis 12:1-9 Back in the 1970s millions of Americans watched a family’s story unfold in a TV mini-series that went by the title Roots .  Maybe you watched it.  It told the story of a young African man who was taken into slavery by the name of Kunte Kinte and his descendants.  It was and remains a powerful story, one that encouraged many other families to trace their own family origins.  After that people seemed to really get into their genealogies.  I know that some of you are hard at work tracing your own family histories.  Perhaps your interest in your roots was inspired by Alex Haley’s family history.   In just two weeks, I’ll be heading out on my three-month sabbatical.  Back when we were working on a grant proposal to fund the sabbatical I had to come up with a theme.  So,  I chose the theme – “Reclaiming a Founding Vision.”  Over the past year, even after we didn’t get the grant, I’ve been reworking th...

Mark 7:1-13   I expect that most of us have never heard God speak directly to us in an audible voice.  We’ve never had a burning bush or Damascus Road experience.  So, if this is true, then how can we hear God’s voice?      Last Sunday we talked about how God might speak to us through Scripture, but even if it is the Word of God, is it the only voice through which God speaks?  Going forward I suggested a couple of other possibilities including Tradition, Reason, and Experience.  Having spoken on Scripture, as you might expect from this morning’s anthem, today I’m going to speak on Tradition.      Now, in Mark 7 we find Jesus confronting an angry group of religious leaders who are appalled that Jesus’ disciples hadn’t properly washed their hands before eating.  While it may sound like an issue of good hygiene, it was really more a question of following tradition.  These leaders didn’t ap...

Romans 8:26-39 On a hot and humid evening this past week, as we watched the Tigers play the Oakland A’s, John Balogh asked me whether I would be preaching a baseball-themed sermon?  Being a lifelong baseball fan,  I couldn’t let a request like that get away, and so I began thinking about how baseball might fit with this morning’s sermon theme.       In Romans 8 Paul poses a question:  “If God is for us, then who can be against us?”   Now, if you’re a Tiger’s fan, could you see God’s hand at work during the game Tuesday evening?  Because they won big, surely God must be on the side of the Tigers!   Of course, not everyone saw things this way, because two members of our group wore caps of the then first place Cleveland Indians.   And while I donned a Tiger’s hat and rooted them on as they played the hapless Oakland A’s, just few weeks earlier I wore a San Francisco Giants cap to the Giants-Tigers game and rooted for my boyhood ...