Words of Welcome

Underground Railroad Memorial, Detroit   Joshua 3:7-17 “Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod, with its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?”  The people of God had finally reached their destination. The Promised Land lay on the other side of the Jordan. Joshua gathers the people at the river’s edge and tells them to follow the Ark of the Covenant into the river. The Ark of the Covenant is the sign of God’s presence with the people. If you’ve seen the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark , you know what the Ark looks like. Joshua tells the people that when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touch the water, the river will part, so they can pass to the other side on dry land. We gather this morning at the river’s edge to prepare for own river crossing experience. It’s called a sabbatical, and for the next three months you and I, in different ways, will be reflecting on the River Crossings theme. Just so you won’t forg...

Matthew 14:22-33 When I was a kid, I went on a boat ride around Klamath Lake, which is probably the size of the Sea of Galilee. On the way home a storm kicked up and it bounced that boat around pretty good. Now, it wouldn’t compare to one of those big Great Lakes storms, the kind that would sink the Edmund Fitzgerald, but for a kid it was a bit unnerving. Back in the 1st century, storms, even on relatively small lakes, could be terrifying. Water was symbolic of life, but it was also symbolic of chaos. Remember those opening lines of Genesis, where the Spirit of God hovers over the “face of the waters,” and ultimately brings order out of chaos (Gen.1: 1-2). This morning’s text raises the question of faith – how much faith do I have, do we have, as we set out on an adventure with God? Sometimes our faith journeys are a bit like a boat tossed about on a stormy lake. We’re not sure where and how things will end, and our faith in God gets tested. This six-week adventure centered ...

Luke 5:33-39 Heraclitus supposedly said: "All things are in a state of flux." In other words, change is part of life. Whether we like it or not, nothing ever stays the same. And to prove his point, that old Greek philosopher pointed to a river and said, you can’t step into the same river twice. Why? Because the water that runs down the river is ever changing. And so it is with life. You might say that change defines modern life. Fashion and music tastes change from day to day. The same is true of hair styles. We look back at old photos and laugh at the big hair or the big glasses. And as for technology, as soon as you get that computer out of the box, it’s already obsolete. I don’t know if you ‘ve noticed it, but politicians have been talking a lot about change – where they differ is in the kind of change they propose. But this is the year of change! The church is nearly 2000 years old, so you’d think it might be immune to change, but even in the church change has become the ...

John 17:1-11 We get anxious when change is at hand. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, change makes us nervous. And we’re getting ready for change, and I think we’re just a bit nervous. Although my future is somewhat clearer than yours, I share in your anxiety as we both head out in new directions. It is in the midst of this anxiety that we come to hear Jesus praying in the garden. In John’s telling of Jesus’ final hours, we hear him pray for his community. It’s often called Jesus’ high priestly prayer, because he takes on the role of an intercessor with God, and in this role he asks God to see them through the difficult times ahead. But more importantly he prays that they might share in God’s glory, even as he has shared in God’s glory. He asks that they might experience the same intimacy with God that Jesus experienced. And in the midst of this prayer, Jesus brings up eternal life. To experience intimacy with God is to share in eternity with God, so what does this mean? I. SHARIN...