Words of Welcome

Romans 6:1b-11 On the day of Pentecost, the people gathered in the streets of Jerusalem asked Peter what they needed to do to be saved.  Peter told them that if they would repent and be baptized, they would receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit ( Acts 2:37-38 ).  That passage of scripture has been a foundation stone for Disciples life from the beginnings of the movement.  In some circles, just giving the biblical reference Acts 2:38 is like saying John 3:16.  Everybody knows what it says. Baptism comes up again in Romans 6, where Paul is in the middle of a conversation about sin, law, grace, and the Christian life.  In  Romans 5,  Paul wrote that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”  It seems that there were some Christians in Rome, who believed that grace was an eternal get out of jail free card, so why not throw caution to the wind.  After all, God will forgive.  There’s a name for this ...

John 16:16-33 March Madness should be a fading memory by now, but those of you who pay attention to such things, you know that when the buzzer sounds, the game is over.  If a ball enters the basket before time runs out, it counts.  That last second shot might even win the game.  But, if the ball goes through the basket just a half a second after the buzzer sounds – then it’s of no consequence.  The game is over, and the team with the highest score gets the win.   In matters spiritual, our Lenten journey has reached the final minutes.  The buzzer is about to sound.  We’ve had our procession.  We’ve sung Hosanna and King of Kings, while waving palm branches.  We’ve even heard the children remind us to be happy in Jesus.  But that is all in the past.  Now we must face a future that is defined by the road to the cross.  You might say -- the clock is ticking.    By the time we come to the moment recorded i...

Matthew 28:1-10 Over time the cross has evolved from being a means of torture and execution to a fashionable piece of jewelry. Crosses can come in gold or silver, plain or bejewelled, and if you didn’t know better, you’d never believe that this cross that people wear around their necks or on their ears was once one of the most feared and despised forms of execution devised by humanity. Its message was so powerful that the Romans reserved the cross for rebels and troublemakers. It’s easy for us to forget the meaning of the cross since it no longer functions as a means of tortuous death, which is why it’s important to observe Good Friday before we celebrate Easter. Before we can appreciate the beauty of Easter, we must take in the ugliness of the cross upon which Jesus died. The cross upon which Jesus hung, reminds us of the ugliness is present in our world – war, segregation, prejudice, self-centeredness, anger, and hatred, to name but a few. As we contemplate the cross, we recognize...

John 6:51-58 On Monday nights, Guy Fieri takes us on a road trip to all the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ” across the land that serve great food, at great prices, but without the frills. While Cheryl thinks that he just goes to greasy burger joints, that’s not entirely true. Yes, he does go to places that like to deep-fry things, but he also goes to some rather surprising places – like a drive-in in Boise that serves prime rib, or a place down on Woodward Avenue called the Fly Trap that’s known for its Asian cuisine. The Food Channel , which carries Guy’s show, exists because we like to eat, and as Alton Brown puts it on his show, we like “ Good Eats!” Now, I’m not sure what either Guy or Alton would make of this morning’s text. I’m not sure that Alton Brown would declare Jesus’ offer of himself as true food and drink to be Good Eats. While Jesus told the tempter that there’s more to life than bread, bread is still an important biblical image. In John 6 Jesus tells us that he is tru...