Words of Welcome

1 John 3:1-7 Who am I? What is my identity? We’ve all asked these kinds of questions of ourselves. In that spirit, let me introduce myself to you, as I know myself relationally. I am Bob, the son of Robert and Beverly, brother of Jim, husband of Cheryl, and father of Brett. If that doesn’t tell you enough about who I am, I could add that I am pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan. If you need more, I can show you my resume, which gives details about my occupational and educational background, along with a lot of other details.  Our reading this morning from 1 John adds another important element to my identity. In fact, it might be the most important factor of all, because it applies to all of us gathered here this morning. John invites us to “see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.”

Romans 8:12-17 I’m not a fan of reality TV, so I don’t ordinarily keep up with the Duggars or the Kardashians. Of course, they’re hard to ignore when they break into the regular news cycles.  While none of us are participants in reality TV, many of us share snippets of family life with the broader public on social media. Sometimes we might even share too much information about our family life with the public! But, whether or not we share the contents of family life with the world by way of Facebook or Instagram, isn’t family life fun?  It’s good to remember that families come in all shapes and sizes, so that in some way we’re all part of a family of some kind!  Some people dream of being part of the perfect family. It’s probably not the kind of family we see portrayed on reality TV, but it could be the Cleavers or the Huxtables.  I realize I’m dating myself by mentioning these two TV families of yesteryear, but they do live on in reruns. In many ways Cl...

Galatians 3:23-29 Famed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld allegedly declared: “Fashion is a language that creates itself in clothes to interpret reality.”  Our clothing choices say a lot about who we are, or at least how we want to present ourselves to others.  Some of us like to dress up, and some of us want to go casual. Our clothing speaks to the culture in which we live and often our station in life. Sometimes our clothing projects an image of who we wish to become. Our clothing choices are ultimately statements of our identity. We may decide to be bold in our choices or try to blend in. Sometimes those choices are made for us.   Many people wear a distinctive uniform. Police, military personnel, fire-fighters all have distinctive uniforms.  Go to a hospital and you will see a variety of uniforms that help identify a person’s job. A physician wears a longish white coat. A surgeon wears blue scrubs. Nurses and nurses’ aids each wear different colors of uni...

Romans 8:14-17 “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”   With this simple song, our children invited us to celebrate Pentecost Sunday by letting the light of God’s Spirit shine through us.  When the Spirit of God descended on the people of God, like a mighty wind, that Pentecost Sunday, flames danced above each head.  This flame symbolizes the light of God that shines through us, lighting our pathways as we journey with God into the world.  Bearing this light, we fulfill our calling to be a blessing to our neighbors – whether close by or far away.   Not only does the song remind us that God has filled us with the light of the Spirit, but it also reminds us, that even if we’re adults, we’re still children of the living God.  As Paul puts it: “All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters” (Rom. 8:14 CEB).   Of course, none of us are God’s natural born children.  No, we’ve been adopted into God’s ...