Words of Welcome

  Exodus 32:1-14 Long road trips can be challenging for children, who easily get impatient. From the back seat, parents hear a plaintive cry: “Are we there yet?” The people of Israel may have had similar feelings as they wandered in the Wilderness of Sinai. Why did it take so long? Then, when they reached Mt. Sinai, Moses disappeared during a supposed visit with God on the mountaintop. So, when he didn’t return in a timely manner, they panicked and asked Aaron to create gods who might lead them out of the wilderness. Because they grew impatient, fearing they had been abandoned by Moses and his God, the people set aside their covenant with God, which included the command not to have other gods besides Yahweh or to make idols for themselves ( Ex. 20:1-4 ). Instead, they decided to adopt replacement gods who might be more responsive to their concerns. This is a temptation that is common to humanity.   When the people asked Aaron for new replacement gods, they asked for...

1 Corinthians 8:1-13              If you’re like me, you prize your freedom. You could call it an American thing, but it’s also a biblical thing. The problem is that when freedom goes rogue it can be quite destructive. Usually, freedom goes rogue when it becomes self-centered. That’s what happened in the Corinthian church. People were attracted to Paul’s message of freedom and then used it to their own benefit at the expense of their neighbors.             When we read the Corinthian letters, we discover that this congregation was, to quote Steve Martin, full of “Wild and Crazy Guys.” One of the reasons for this was that this congregation was rather unique for its time. Corinth itself was a very cosmopolitan port city. Because of this, the church in Corinth was very diverse in terms of economic status and probably ethnicity. Since Paul planted this church, he felt a certain responsibility for its success. Paul wrote a...