Words of Welcome

  Eph esians 5:8-14 You may have heard the phrase “It has come to light.” That phrase often suggests that you are about to hear bad news. Whether it is a matter of moral or criminal behavior, you never want to hear those words. That is especially true if you’ve had some dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. If you’re in his files or visited his island, you might be in trouble. Look at what happened to the guy formerly known as Prince Andrew. Not only did he lose his title and place in the line of succession, but he was arrested for making the monarchy look bad. So, when the light shines in the darkness, it usually brings to light the bad things done under the cover of darkness.  Our reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent from Ephesians 5 talks about leaving behind darkness and walking in the light. This letter addresses a number of practical questions about what it means to live the Christian life in the context of a pagan culture, which embraced ethical and moral conduct that dif...

Acts 9:1-20; John 21:15-19 In Brian Wren’s Easter hymn Christ Is Risen!  Shout Hosanna!  we sing: Christ is risen!  Earth and heaven nevermore shall be the same. Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain. Tell its grim demonic chorus: “Christ is risen!  Get you gone!” God the first and last is with us.  Sing Hosanna everyone!  (CH 222) Yes, let’s sing hosanna because heaven and earth “shall not be the same.”  Because God is in Christ reconciling the world to God’s self, we are now part of God’s new creation. This morning we take the next step in our journey through the Book of Acts, focusing on how encounters with the Risen Christ transform lives.   This morning I’d like us to consider two important stories about people whose lives were dramatically changed because of their encounters with the Risen Christ.  There’s the story of Saul’s Damascus Road encounter, which we’ve already heard read. ...

Matthew 2:1-12 One of the first songs most of us learned as children was this old English lullaby: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high,   Like a diamond in the sky. It’s not a Christmas carol or even an Epiphany hymn, but the third stanza seems to fit today’s service:   Then the traveller in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark, He could not see which way to go,   If you did not twinkle so. Light pollution makes it difficult to see the stars in the night, but if you get away from civilization, maybe go up into the mountains, you might get a sense of how the stars looked to the ancient world.  No wonder ancient travelers looked to the stars for guidance.  If you knew the movement of the stars, you’d know where you were and where you were going.  They were the original GPS, and they weren’t nearly as annoying!    According to Matthew, Magi – Zoroastrian priest...

Ruth 1:1-18 I thought about singing Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” but thought better of it.  But I could have used that song title as the title for this sermon.  It is, after all, a sermon about spiritual journeys in the company of others. Our text this morning reminds us that migration is a common theme in the biblical story.  Beginning with Adam and Eve’s departure from Eden and on through Abraham and Sarah’s journey from Ur to Canaan, Jacob’s various journeys, including a final one that took him and his sons to Egypt, and then the return of Jacob’s descendants to the Promised Land with Moses.  Jesus himself was an itinerant preacher, who traveled in the company of his disciples, and of course, Paul is known for his missionary journeys.  These journeys, like most journeys, have some purpose to them. It might be famine or it might be war.  It could be that God has sent a person on a journey to bring a message of good news. ...

Acts 2:14, 32-39 We’ve reached the half way point in our Lenten journey, and I believe that God is doing something important in our midst. With Gay Reese as our guide, we have opened ourselves up to being transformed as individuals and as a congregation. I do think it is appropriate to say that we’re becoming a converted community. That is, God is unbinding our hearts and minds so that we might be open both to the future and to the community that lies just beyond our doors.1 There’s a new spirit and purpose in this congregation. Not so long ago our congregation was wracked by conflict and division. We were broken and many were angry. Over the past few years God has been healing those wounds and preparing the congregation for something new. That new thing is beginning to happen. Oh, you may only see the first shoots sticking out of the ground, but it’s happening right before our eyes. As this new thing grows and develops, it will move us beyond these walls and out into ...

Ruth 1:1-18 If you look closely at Matthew’s genealogy, you’ll find four women listed -- Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Ruth. Have you ever wondered why these particular women are mentioned? If you know their story, you know that each story has a dark side. But, despite the dark edge, each woman plays an important role in the biblical story. This morning we read about Ruth. Her story begins when a Hebrew woman named Naomi moves to Moab with her husband and two sons to escape famine in Israel. It’s strange that they’d go to Moab, since the Hebrews believed that this nation was cursed by God for not helping them when they wandering in the wilderness. But that’s where they went, and during their sojourn, Naomi’s husband dies and her two sons marry Moabite women. Do you see a problem brewing? I do! And the problem is, good Hebrew men didn’t marry Moabite women! But these men did just that! And then tragedy struck again when Naomi’s sons die leaving her alone, destitute, and with two daughter...