Words of Welcome

Deuteronomy 16:13-17 What are you thankful for? That’s a question we normally ask on Thanksgiving Day, but since I probably won’t be with most of you on Thursday, I’m asking it today instead. Now before you start responding, I’m asking this rhetorically. I expect that if I opened up for responses this service would never end. That’s why the feast of booths went on for seven days. So, what are we thankful for? Good health, good friends, shelter over our heads, and having enough to eat. Could it be that we’re thankful for living in a country that allows us the freedom to worship, to speak, and to think as we wish? Is it the freedom we have to vote as we wish? Each of us has something different to add to the list. A CALL TO CELEBRATE WITH THANKSGIVING Deuteronomy 16 is a summons. It invites the people of God to gather at festivals of thanksgiving. In ancient Israel, the men came together at least three times a year to give thanks for God’s blessings, and when they came to the feast, they ...

1 Kings 17:8-16; 12:38-44 Although there’s some debate as to the meaning of the law, the recently enacted Federal bankruptcy law makes it more difficult for people to give to charity after they declare bankruptcy. You see the creditors want to be reimbursed first, before God gets paid. I’m not sure if the two widows described in today’s readings had declared bankruptcy, but they were in bad financial shape when they gave their last pittance to charity. Although these widows have little to commend themselves to our attention, Scripture honors both for their willingness to give. But why give everything away, if death is the result? Of course, maybe that’s the point. They knew they had nothing to lose. So, even though their acts of generosity may seem odd, they are our models of faithfulness. THE SACRAMENT OF GIVING Like most preachers, I’m not thrilled about giving stewardship sermons. Talking about money seems self-serving and may even be on the verge of meddling. But money, as they say...

Ruth 1:1-18 If you look closely at Matthew’s genealogy, you’ll find four women listed -- Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Ruth. Have you ever wondered why these particular women are mentioned? If you know their story, you know that each story has a dark side. But, despite the dark edge, each woman plays an important role in the biblical story. This morning we read about Ruth. Her story begins when a Hebrew woman named Naomi moves to Moab with her husband and two sons to escape famine in Israel. It’s strange that they’d go to Moab, since the Hebrews believed that this nation was cursed by God for not helping them when they wandering in the wilderness. But that’s where they went, and during their sojourn, Naomi’s husband dies and her two sons marry Moabite women. Do you see a problem brewing? I do! And the problem is, good Hebrew men didn’t marry Moabite women! But these men did just that! And then tragedy struck again when Naomi’s sons die leaving her alone, destitute, and with two daughter...

Psalm 116:12-19 "There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; There’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty." (F.W. Faber, Chalice, 73) This is good news. We serve a God who is gracious and compassionate and we get to celebrate that grace and compassion, that mercy and kindness, as we come together for worship. The ancient Israelites held great Fall festivals to give thanks for God’s wondrous bounty and sing songs like the one in Psalm 116. They thanked God for the bounty of the harvest and for hearing their cries when they were going through difficult times, like when death and anguish were their lot in life. These songs remind us that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. And so, we join the Psalmist in asking: "What can I give back to God, for the blessings he’s poured out on me?" (116:12 MSG). Growing Faith and Giving Thanks Giving back to God takes faith, and faith, as Hebrews says, is "the assurance of thing...

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...

Mark 10:17-31 Time magazine recently ran a cover story that asked the question: "Does God want you to be Rich?" Apparently a growing number of preachers are giving this question an affirmative answer. Houston’s Joel Osteen is just the latest preacher to promise prosperity to those who will just believe. But, the question is: What am I supposed to believe in? God or money? I remember going to a rally at a church many years ago for a certain unnamed soap distributor. The organizers hoped to get us all jazzed up to sell and buy products by promising us more material blessings. And so we shouted out words of praise to money. So what does God want for us? Apparently 61% of us think God wants us to be rich and prosperous, which may be why Osteen and his fellow preachers are so popular. Just believe and you’ll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Now, I believe that attitude is important and that a positive attitude will take you a long way in life, but that’s different from equating beli...

Mark 10:2-12 We’re broken people living in a broken world. That’s not a message we like to hear, but it’s true. Marriages, families, relationships, communities, nations, the world itself, seem to be broken. Like a virus that eats away at our inner being, every aspect of human life is vulnerable to this malignancy of the human spirit, including the most intimate of human relationships. It’s no secret that marriage is an institution in distress. Divorce rates continue to rise, while young people either delay marriage or give up on it entirely. By today’s standards the twenty-three years Cheryl and I have been married is a long time. Of course, that’s nothing compared to those of you who’ve been married fifty years or more. I doubt I have any words of wisdom to offer anyone about how to keep a happy marriage, but I do know that every relationship, even the best ones, have their bumps in the road. I wish I could tell you with a straight face that Cheryl and I have never argued or disagreed...