Words of Welcome

  Ephesians 2:11-22 Many of us will remember Ronald Reagan’s visit to West Berlin in 1987, during which he famously declared: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” While Mr. Gorbachev didn’t tear down the wall, it wasn’t long before the people of Berlin tore it down. Two years later, as the world watched on live TV, the people of East and West Berlin mounted the Berlin Wall and began tearing it down. For once, the East German police, who routinely shot people trying to escape across the wall, didn’t step in to stop it. Before long what had been two nations for four decades was once again united. I remember sitting glued to the TV watching the report, amazed at what was happening. At least for a moment, the world tingled with hope that this was a day of new beginnings for world history. We hoped for a moment that peace would come to a divided world. Things haven’t turned out as many of us hoped, but that image of a wall of hostility falling has stayed with me. What many of us di...

Mark 6:14-29 Have you ever made a wager you’ve come to regret? Even if you’re not a gambler, and I’m not, maybe you’ve made decisions you later regret. If I put the question that way, I confess that I’ve made plenty of decisions I’ve come to regret. Fortunately, I’ve survived them! At least, so far! This morning we meet up with Herod Antipas, son of the infamous King Herod the Great, and the self-styled King of Galilee. While he had royal titles,  he was a vassal of the Roman Empire, which meant that whatever power he had, came from Rome. Rome put him in charge of Galilee, which is where Jesus lived and John the Baptist frequented. According to Mark’s Gospel, Herod Antipas made a wager that involved the death of John the Baptist that he came to regret, but more about that in a moment. The reason John’s death appears in the story is that it involves Jesus’ growing popularity in Herod’s territory. Herod was concerned that Jesus might be John, who had been Herod’s nemesis, risen...

  Mark 5:21-43 The Gospel of Mark offers us a fast-moving story. Everything seems to happen immediately, one thing after another. Since Mark’s Jesus rarely stops to teach, it’s mostly action. If you like action movies, you’ll like Mark’s Gospel. Mark stops long enough in chapter 4 to offer us a few parables, beginning with the Parable of the Sower, but we quickly move on to the next destination.  In fact, after that long day of teaching, Jesus got in a boat heading across the lake and fell asleep. He was so sleepy that not even a big storm could wake him up. When his frightened disciples, several of whom were fishermen, finally woke him up so he could share in their suffering, he stilled the storm allowing them to safely reach the opposite shore. No sooner had they emerged from the boat than a demon-possessed man ran toward him. Jesus responded by delivering the man from his demons, sending them into a herd of pigs that ran into the lake and drowned. Since that didn’t ma...

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5 The American Psychological Association defines friendship as: A voluntary relationship between two or more people that is relatively long-lasting and in which those involved tend to be concerned with meeting the others’ needs and interests as well as satisfying their own desires. Friendships frequently develop through shared experiences in which the people involved learn that their association with one another is mutually gratifying. One of the key dimensions of this definition is its emphasis on mutuality, which means true friendships are not one-sided. They also tend to be long-lasting. Many of us have friendships that go back to childhood. We may only have a few deep friendships in life, but these and other friendships bring joy and sustenance to our lives. The chorus of the song “ That’s What Friends Are For” captures this truth for us: Keep smilin', keep shinin' Knowing you can always  count on me for sure That's what friends are f...

    Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach, CA 2 Corinthians 5:6-20 Last Sunday we heard Paul invite the members of the Corinthian church to live by faith by focusing on eternal things that can’t be seen, rather than temporary things that can be seen. This morning we continue that conversation, as Paul once again invites us to walk by faith and not by sight. He wants to assure them that whether they are in the body or not, God is always present with them and that God has a purpose for their lives.  Paul tells the Corinthians that he sought to live in a way that pleased God. If he could do that then when he stood before God’s judgment seat he could give an account of his life confident that he had given his all to the work of God. He wants the same to be true for the Corinthian believers. Standing before God’s judgment seat to give an account of our lives might seem a bit scary because nobody enjoys going before a judge. I’ve only had to go to court once, and that was for a spe...

  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 When the Hubble telescope was set in place, it brought the vastness of the universe into focus in ways never before imagined. But, after it was deployed, the scientists working with the telescope discovered a flaw in the lens that made the image fuzzy. So, NASA launched a shuttle with a crew that could repair the telescope, making it possible to view the wonders of the universe with greater clarity.  I also know what it means to bring things into focus on a more personal level. That’s because every morning since I was in fourth grade, I put on my glasses so I can see the world with greater clarity than I can without them. Once upon a time, I might have been considered blind, but now, thanks to the science of optics I can see clearly!   In our reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he speaks about focusing on things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. He tells the Corinthians that what we see and experience with ...

Psalm 29 It was in the year that King Uzziah died that God called Isaiah to prophetic ministry. That call from God came in a vision, in which Isaiah saw God seated high and lifted up, with the hem of God’s robe filling the Temple. And six-winged creatures called seraphs flew about the throne calling to each other: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is filled with his glory. ” Although Isaiah was overwhelmed by what he saw and heard, when the time came, he answered God’s invitation to be God’s messenger to God’s people by declaring: “Here am I, send me”  ( Is. 6:1-8 ). Paul wrote to the church in Rome, reminding them that everyone who is led by the Spirit of God is one of God’s children. Since we have received the spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirits letting us know that we are God’s children, which means we are God’s heirs. In fact, we are joint heirs with Jesus of all God’s promises. Therefore, while we may suffer with Christ, w...