Words of Welcome

  Romans 5:1-11 Six years ago, the world was shutting down because COVID was on the march. That included our church services. Everyone was uncertain about what the future held. Would this last a few days or weeks? No one knew at that moment. Just a few weeks earlier, I had shared with the folks at Central Woodward my plan to retire at the end of June 2021. Since I was giving them a nearly eighteen-month head start, I thought we had lots of time to prepare the church for the future. Suffice it to say, things didn’t work out the way I planned.  As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. While we might not be facing a global pandemic, the recently launched war with Iran is making people just as anxious, uncertain, and fearful as we were six years ago. That’s because we don’t know what the future holds. We know that gas prices are going up dramatically, and the stock market is going down. We don’t know how long the war will last and what form it w...

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5 The American Psychological Association defines friendship as: A voluntary relationship between two or more people that is relatively long-lasting and in which those involved tend to be concerned with meeting the others’ needs and interests as well as satisfying their own desires. Friendships frequently develop through shared experiences in which the people involved learn that their association with one another is mutually gratifying. One of the key dimensions of this definition is its emphasis on mutuality, which means true friendships are not one-sided. They also tend to be long-lasting. Many of us have friendships that go back to childhood. We may only have a few deep friendships in life, but these and other friendships bring joy and sustenance to our lives. The chorus of the song “ That’s What Friends Are For” captures this truth for us: Keep smilin', keep shinin' Knowing you can always  count on me for sure That's what friends are f...

    Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach, CA 2 Corinthians 5:6-20 Last Sunday we heard Paul invite the members of the Corinthian church to live by faith by focusing on eternal things that can’t be seen, rather than temporary things that can be seen. This morning we continue that conversation, as Paul once again invites us to walk by faith and not by sight. He wants to assure them that whether they are in the body or not, God is always present with them and that God has a purpose for their lives.  Paul tells the Corinthians that he sought to live in a way that pleased God. If he could do that then when he stood before God’s judgment seat he could give an account of his life confident that he had given his all to the work of God. He wants the same to be true for the Corinthian believers. Standing before God’s judgment seat to give an account of our lives might seem a bit scary because nobody enjoys going before a judge. I’ve only had to go to court once, and that was for a spe...

  Mark 16:1-8; Isaiah 25:6-9 It was the morning of the first day of the week. Just a few days earlier, Roman officials crucified Jesus. Since the Sabbath was close at hand, a follower of Jesus named Joseph of Arimathea got permission to take Jesus down from the cross, and he simply placed the body in a tomb. Finishing the burial process would have to wait until after the Sabbath. On the day Jesus died, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched Joseph place the body in the tomb. Then after the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, along with Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices to the tomb so they could finish the burial process. As the three women walked toward the tomb, they remembered that a large stone covered the entrance. While they had the spices, they wondered who was going to reopen the tomb? After all, none of the men went with them.  When they arrived at the tomb, they were surprised to discover that the tomb was already open. When they loo...

  Luke 21:25-36 It’s Thanksgiving Weekend and the First Sunday of Advent. As you can see, the sanctuary is ready for our celebration of Advent and Christmas. The beautiful new blue cloth on the table says it well: “O Come Emmanuel.” With this invitation to Emmanuel, we can ready ourselves to welcome the one who brings God’s presence into our midst. We opened worship singing “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.” This prayer has two meanings. First of all, it speaks to the messianic hopes and dreams that helped define Jesus’ earthly ministry. But it also speaks to our future hopes and dreams, as we pray that God would free us from our fears and sins so we might find our rest, as Augustine suggested in God’s presence.  The word we hear from the Gospel of Luke this morning has an apocalyptic ring to it. It’s as if Robot, from Lost in Space, is saying to us: “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” Yes, keep your eyes and ears on the alert for signs that the ...

 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15.  If you’ve been to a tourist destination like Orlando,  Vegas, or Niagra Falls, you probably encountered a museum that proclaimed that “truth is stranger than fiction.” You may have even paid the admission price to check out the claims. I’m talking about Ripley’s Believe or Not Museums. I can’t verify the claims since I’ve never ventured inside any of the museums but I’ve passed by them. Since I didn’t go in, I have to take their word that truth is stranger than fiction.   You don’t have to go to a Ripley’s museum to encounter strange “truths.” That’s because we are living in a “post-truth” world. What do I mean by post-truth? One online dictionary defines “post-truth” as “relating to or existing in an environment in which facts are viewed as irrelevant, or less important than personal beliefs and opinions, and emotional appeals are used to influence public opinion.” If we are living in a post-truth world, then it’s not surprising t...

Genesis 32:22-31 It’s said that no one can see the face of God and live ( Ex 33:20 ) but there are exceptions to the rule. One of those exceptions involves Jacob, who saw the face of God but not until he participated in a wrestling match that lasted almost to daybreak. We catch up with Jacob, the son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraham as he prepares to cross the Jabbok to meet up with his estranged brother Esau. Jacob is an intriguing character. In fact, he’s something of a trickster. It all started in the womb when Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel so that he could emerge from the womb first. His parents named him Jacob, which can be translated as “He who grabs the heel” ( Gen. 25:26 ). That name is related to the Hebrew word that means “twisted” or “deceitful.”  Then Jacob defrauded Esau out of his birthright with a pot of stew. Now, as this trickster camps at the Jabbok, his past is catching up with him. He wants to return to his homeland, but that means facing his e...

Romans 5:1-11 You may have seen those “Keep Calm” posters. You may even have one in your house. You know the ones that say “Keep Calm and Carry On!” Or, it might be one of many variations on that theme. But, what do you do when life is anything but calm? We are experiencing just such a moment. We face a Coronavirus or more specifically a COVID-19 pandemic that has unknown consequences for us. We don’t know its full extent because there aren’t yet enough tests to go around and a vaccine for the virus is probably months away. Even if the virus appears to go away when summer arrives, it might come back next winter. Hopefully, there’ll be a vaccine by then, but we don’t know for sure. So, in the meantime we wait, trying to find a way forward.  This uncertainty about our situation is wreaking havoc on our society. The stock market crashed into bear territory, leaving many ordinary people wondering about their financial well-being. Universities are moving classes o...

John 18:33-37 The election season is over, so isn’t it time to get on with life. After all there’s work to be done.  Remember there’s that fiscal cliff to resolve, immigration reform to tackle, and then there’s the ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  Besides all of this there are roads and bridges that need to be built or repaired.  The laundry list is long and getting longer.  And that’s just the stuff on our government’s plate.  As for us, the Christmas shopping season is racing into top gear!   Although we all seem to enjoy complaining about politics and politicians, isn’t it human nature to complain about the people in power.  At least in this country, if you don’t like ‘em, you can toss ‘em out.  Though with gerrymandering that’s sort of difficult!  But, what if we lived instead under the rule of divinely sanctioned hereditary monarchs.  Wouldn’t that be better?  Although there are those who ...