Words of Welcome

  Romans 7:15-25a Next Sunday, Dan will begin a series of sermons from the Book of Romans that starts in chapter 8. The first verse of Romans 8 declares that “there is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Now that’s good news! Now, before we can hear the good news, we need to hear the bad news. I get to deliver the bad news. So, once again I get to set the stage for Dan to deliver the good news, even if I chose this passage!  I think Paul’s words in Romans 7 might resonate with many of us because it offers a rather realistic picture of human life. That’s because it speaks of the kinds of inner conflicts that we all face in life. You see, Paul wants to do the right thing, but he can’t seem to follow through. Why this is true, could be rooted in anxiety or a failure to recognize our own limits? We can even know what’s expected of us, and still fall ...

  Matthew 17:1-9, Exodus 24:12-18 This morning we return to the Mount of Transfiguration. We looked at Luke’s version back in February, and now we turn to Matthew’s version of the story. This version, like Luke’s, invites us to experience a moment of revelation as Jesus is transfigured and transformed.  Matthew invites us to ponder Jesus’ identity. He invites us to ask: Who is this Jesus we claim to follow? And, how is God present in and with him? The story of the Transfiguration takes us to one of those “thin places” where the metaphorical membrane separating heaven and earth becomes transparent and we can see the things of God more fully and clearly. We get to see Jesus unveiled, with his full identity shining through, even if only for a moment.   Matthew tells us that the Transfiguration event takes place six days after the conversation recorded in Matthew 16. In that chapter, Jesus asks the disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded to that...

  William Blake, Job and His Family  Job 42:1-6, 10-17 We’ve explored a few passages from the second half of the book of Job. What we’ve heard so far is a bit unsettling. We’ve met a God who is willing to make people suffer just to prove a point. Although God uses a hired hand to do this, God is said to be responsible for this “evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). As we’ve seen, this doesn’t sit well with Job. He wants to know why he has suffered at the hand of God. After all, he is innocent and righteous before God. So why are bad things happening to a good person like Job? Although the Bible is a sacred text, it’s also a very complex and human book. At times it even argues with itself. So, many of us read Job as a response to the conventional wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs. The message of Proverbs is quite simple. If you do the right thing, good things should happen. If you do bad things, then you’ll reap what you sow. That message makes sense on ...

James 3:1-12 You’ve probably heard it said that “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” It’s the kind of thing people say to bullies, but whether we’ve been the victim or the perpetrator, I think we all know that names do hurt. The pain of words might be different from the pain caused by sticks and stones, but the damage is real. So we probably should be careful with what we say.  James understood this truth. In the very first chapter of his letter, James wrote that “if anyone appears to be ‘religious’ but cannot control his tongue, he deceives himself and we may be sure that his religion is useless” ( Jms. 1:26 JB Phillips). James writes this message about the power of the tongue right before he gives his definition of religion that is “pure and undefiled before God.” James takes up the subject of the tongue once again in chapter 3, where he suggests that the tongue is like a forest fire set by Hell itself. That does sound dangerous! James dire...

John 6:56-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you? Did you decide never to go back to that church? I expect we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Since I’m the guest preacher this morning, I’ll do my best not to offend you. I don’t want to get Pastor Alex in trouble for inviting me here to preach this morning.  While I’ll do my best not to offend you, could Jesus say something that might offend you? Have you ever run into something that Jesus is recorded as saying that shocked you?  As we read the Gospels, it quickly becomes clear that Jesus had a tendency to step on toes and push people’s buttons. On one occasion, according to Luke, Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth. Since they had heard he was something of a preacher and healer, they invited him to say a few words in their synagogue. That didn’t go well. By the end of the service, the home folks tried to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, Jesus escaped and headed off to a friendlier ven...

Hebrews 4:12-16 We all have a few skeletons in your closet. There are things, secret things,  that we’d rather others not know about.   And, some things are best left unsaid.   Of course, it’s getting more difficult to keep secrets.  After all, as politicians are discovering, you never know who is recording your words and movements. But sometimes we, ourselves, put out in public things that come back to haunt us. You have to be really careful about what you post on Facebook and Twitter. You may think it’s just your “friends,” who see that picture or that comment, but there’s a whole lot of other people who just might see it as well.  So, as a rule of thumb, if you don’t want the world knowing your business, then don’t make it public record on social media.  You might also remember these three letters:  TMI or Too Much Information! Because I blog and am on Facebook, Linked-In, and Twitter, I’ve left a bit of a trail.  I’ve tried n...

James 3:1-18 The song “Pass It On” starts with the words: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” If that fire is the love of God that warms the hearts of everyone who experiences God’s presence, then it’s  a good thing to pass on to others.  But not every fire is the same. There are also fires that can be very destructive, so you have to be careful with those kinds of sparks.   Early in life I learned how destructive fires can be.  When we lived in Mount Shasta, in northern California, we lived next door to a Fire Control Officer for the Forest Service.  When he was home, Mr. Gray’s green Forest Service pickup sat parked at the curb, ready to go at a moment’s notice.  We knew when there was a fire, because all the green pickups in the neighborhood headed out at the same time. Most of the fires occurred some distance from town, but on at least one occasion a fire started up on the mountain behind us, and we watched the flames lick the e...

Mark 6:14-29 It’s your birthday and you’re really hoping to get a special present.  It could be a new bike, a red wagon, a doll, a new Ford Fiesta.  You’ve left lots of hints, and you’re hoping that you’ll get your heart’s desire.  So, did you get what you wanted?   Or did you get something else?  And if you got what you wanted, is it what you hoped for?  Herod Antipas was the king in Galilee, which is where Jesus hailed from.  When his birthday approached, he decided to throw himself a party.  You can do that if you’re the king.  As Mel Brooks put it in History of the World, Part 1 :  “It’s good to be the king!”  So, Herod sent out to the invitations to all the movers and shakers from the neighborhood and invited them to a big banquet.  His wife, Herodias, who was also married to his brother, offered up her daughter whom tradition names Salome – as the entertainment.   You may know Salome’s name, be...