Words of Welcome

Psalm 19 Today is World Communion Sunday, and in my theology of the Table, Jesus, the Word of God incarnate, encounters us in this meal. Psalm 19 speaks of other encounters with God, both in the silent voices of the heavens and in the words of Scripture. Together the heavens, Scripture, and the Table proclaim the glory of God. So, what word from God are you hearing in these voices?   The Psalmist declares that “the heavens are telling the glory of God.” Or as Michael Morgan’s version announces:  The heav’ns unfold your glory, Lord/ In every realm of space/ The outmost bounds of all that is/ Resound your wondrous grace [ The Psalter for Christian Worship , p. 29].  The Psalmist also declares that the “Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Or, in the words of Michael Morgan: “Your Word is sure and perfect still, a source of light and life.” The lectionary’s Old Testament reading for today comes from Exodus 20, which reveals the commandments of God, ...

Mark 7:1-13   I expect that most of us have never heard God speak directly to us in an audible voice.  We’ve never had a burning bush or Damascus Road experience.  So, if this is true, then how can we hear God’s voice?      Last Sunday we talked about how God might speak to us through Scripture, but even if it is the Word of God, is it the only voice through which God speaks?  Going forward I suggested a couple of other possibilities including Tradition, Reason, and Experience.  Having spoken on Scripture, as you might expect from this morning’s anthem, today I’m going to speak on Tradition.      Now, in Mark 7 we find Jesus confronting an angry group of religious leaders who are appalled that Jesus’ disciples hadn’t properly washed their hands before eating.  While it may sound like an issue of good hygiene, it was really more a question of following tradition.  These leaders didn’t ap...

2 Timothy 3:14-17 I know what you’re thinking.  This sounds more like a lecture series than a sermon series.  You’re wondering – will he put on his preacher’s hat or his professorial one.  It’s a good question.  Let me try on this professorial hat for a moment. As I see if this hat fits, I can say that the series is inspired by questions that came up during our “Ask the Pastor” conversation last August. The questions that I hope to address with this series include:  How do we hear God’s voice so we know what we should be and do?   And, how do we actually know if it’s God’s voice or some other voice that we are hearing?   If you’ve ever heard Billy Graham preach, you know what he thinks.  It’s just:   “The Bible says . . .”    If you want to know what God wants us to do, just read your Bible.  Or, as it’s sometimes put:  “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.”  Or does it?   If you...

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5     A moment ago we commissioned two of our own to do the work of the ministry.  We shared together in the commissioning of Alex and Rial to be Stephen Ministers, a ministry of pastoral care and service to this community of faith.  According to information I found on the Stephen Ministries website:      The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around your congregation. With their commissioning, we have recognized and affirmed the gifts and calling of these two people to take up this caring ministry in the congregation.     Perhaps it’s providential that this service of commissioning occurred on the day that we begin observing the Week of the Ministry.   Each October our churches observe The Week of the Ministry in order to lift up the call to ministry, both in its lay and clergy forms.  This year, for...

2 Timothy 3:10-17 Books are meant to be read, and if we read the Bible we put ourselves in a position to hear God speak from its pages. Although the Bible is the best-selling book of all time, it may also be the least read best seller of all time. People buy Bibles for all kinds of reasons. I’ve heard they make nice decorations and good gifts. Back when I was in seminary, working for a Christian bookstore, I sold Bibles. Now, selling Bibles was easier twenty-five years ago than it is today. That’s because there were fewer translations and fewer editions of those translations to offer people. Now there are probably thirty or forty different options for the New International Version alone. While I enjoyed selling Bibles, I’ve been known to talk people out of buying them. It’s not that I don’t want people to own Bibles, I’d just like them to get a Bible they’ll use. On one occasion a lady came into the store looking for a white Bible. I asked her why she wanted a white Bible, and she said...