Words of Welcome

Matthew 14:22-33 I’m not very adept at walking on water. While I did try to water ski once upon a time, it didn’t go very well. In fact, not only didn’t I get up on the skis, since I seemed unable or unwilling to let go of the rope, I bounced along the surface of the lake as the boat headed down the lake. When the boat finally stopped, and my friends pulled me into the boat, I was covered with bits of the green algae that fill Klamath Lake. Despite my inability to water ski, let alone walk on water, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was very adept at walking on water. He could even walk on water during the middle of the storm.  Our reading this morning from Matthew 14 picks up the story of Jesus’ Galilean ministry immediately after he had fed five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish ( Matt. 14:13-21 ).  After Jesus put the disciples in a boat and sent them on their way across the Sea of Galilee, he dismissed the crowd. Then, he headed to...

    Jeremiah 29:1-7 I’ve lived in small towns and big cities, but I think you could call me a city boy. After all, I was born in Los Angeles and have spent the past seventeen years living in Metro Detroit! So, while I enjoy visiting small towns, I like the amenities that come with living in a metropolitan area. But big cities, like small towns, present their own kinds of challenges. The word we hear this morning from Jeremiah raises an important question. Are we willing to invest ourselves in making our communities more livable?  This word from the prophet Jeremiah comes in the form of a letter sent to the first wave of Jewish exiles that King Nebuchadnezzar sent to Babylon. When Jeremiah sent this letter, Jerusalem, along with its Temple, still stood. But, while these exiles, including the former king and his court, may have hoped they would return home soon, Jeremiah warned them that their exile would last for a long time. He told them to ignore the false prophets w...

Luke 9:28-36 This morning we join Peter, James, and John, as they hike up a mountain with Jesus, so he can take time to pray. We get to see what happens on the mountain through the eyes of these three disciples. What we see is truly amazing. We watch as Jesus’ face suddenly radiates light and his clothing became as white as new-fallen snow. If that wasn’t enough to catch our attention, two men appear and begin talking with Jesus. We soon learn that these two men are none other than the prophet Elijah and Moses the lawgiver. If you were there on the mountain top with Peter, James, and John, what would you make of this?  The three disciples had been with Jesus long enough by this point in the story to have seen some amazing things. They had to know there was something special about him. They’d seen him heal people and feed the five thousand. They’d heard him preach. In fact, just a few days earlier, Peter made the good confession that Jesus is the Messiah ( Lk 9:17-20 ). Neverthe...

  Philippians 4:4-9 We’ve finally lit the pink candle. People often wonder why the Advent wreath has a pink candle. They also want to know when to light it, especially if they are tasked with lighting the candles. Well, here’s the reason why we have a pink candle and light it on the Third Sunday of Advent. It’s pink and we light it on the Third Sunday of Advent because today is, according to tradition, Joy Sunday. Although we’re following a more recent tradition and using blue, the usual color scheme for Advent is purple. Purple is considered to be a more solemn color. That’s why we use it during Lent. Both Advent and Lent are supposed to be seasons of reflection and repentance in preparation for a major liturgical event. If that’s true, it seems appropriate to use a softer color on Joy Sunday. After all, how can you be somber on a day when you hear Paul call on us to “rejoice in the Lord always?” Although Paul is sitting in a prison cell and has every reason to be bitter and a...

  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 ...

Psalm 62:5-12 I must confess that I don’t always place my full trust in God alone. Perhaps like me, you hedge our bets and occasionally look elsewhere. Maybe you put your trust in an institution. Or it could be a political leader or maybe a family member. Perhaps you only trust yourself and nobody else.  The Psalmist invites us to sing a different song, one that makes this assertion:  “for God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” We opened worship this morning with the hymn “ A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. ” Martin Luther based this hymn, which is one of my favorites, on Psalm 46. While Psalm 62 isn’t the source of the hymn, the message is the same. It also proclaims that God is our fortress and our refuge.  As we sing this majestic hymn, we declare that God is “a bulwark never failing, our present help amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.” This is a truth we need to ...

Acts 1:3-14 I have a confession to make. I’m tired of waiting for this pandemic to end and I know I’m not alone. It’s Memorial Day Weekend and it’s finally getting warm outside. We’ve been cooped for more than two months and we want to spread our wings. Along the way, we’ve watched as Baseball’s opening day has come and gone without any games being played, while a lot of other events we might have enjoyed have been canceled. Some of us have travel plans that are on hold because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The Governor is loosening some of the restrictions, but the stay at home order has been extended because we’re not out of the woods yet.  While waiting can be difficult—just ask any child at Christmas time—sometimes good things come to those who wait. This includes waiting for the Spirit of God to come upon us with power so we can be Christ’s witnesses in the world. Today we celebrate Jesus’ ascension, which according to the Book of Acts occurred for...

Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19 I had planned on preaching from 1 Peter during this Easter season, but I’ve been drawn to the Psalms during this pandemic. I would have enjoyed exploring some of the intricacies of 1 Peter, but the Psalms speak to where we are right now. They invite us to pray and even cry out in lament. They offer us opportunities to grieve and even complain. They also invite us to share words of thanksgiving even in difficult times. Psalm 116 is a song of thanksgiving that begins with a declaration of faith: “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.” This song of thanksgiving doesn’t come during a time of abundance. No, the Psalmist makes this declaration of faith even as the “snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.” It’s at this point that the Psalmist called on the Lord and prayed, asking God to “save my life.” As we continue this season of uncertainty, when the snares o...

Healing Hands James 5:13-20 Today is World Communion Sunday. While we may gather at the Table every Sunday, this particular Sunday reminds us that we part of a global fellowship of Christians. Our fellowship crosses ethnic and national boundaries, and with the rise of a nationalistic spirit across the globe, this is an important fact to remember. This morning we’re bringing to a close a series of sermons exploring the Letter of James, the Lord’s Brother. Although this was the designated reading for last Sunday, I wasn’t here to share it with you. I did preach on this text at Congregational Church of Birmingham, but I’m preaching on it this morning so we can bring this series of sermons to a proper conclusion. While this isn’t the designated text for today, I do believe it’s a fitting text for World Communion Sunday. That’s because it speaks of healing prayer, and our world is crying out for healing.  In the very first chapter of the letter, James speaks of a f...