Tag Archives: God

13Oct/24

Who’s Scruffy Looking?

October 13, 2024SermonsAnger, Bias, Faith in Action, Fear, God, Judging, Judgment, Priorities, Rich, Sin, WealthMichael

Psychology tells us that we are hard-wired to think that beautiful people are smarter than those that don’t fit into society’s norms of beauty. And that we think that tall people are more capable of leading, just by virtue of their size. And that people who smile are more trustworthy than those who frown or who keep an expressionless face.

And while psychology tells us that this is our initial, hard-wired reaction, it is good that we are thinking and rational creatures, because each of us has experienced a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a salesman with a winning smile who is intending to sell you a lemon. Our hard-wired brains lie to us initially, but it is our thoughts and our understanding that helps us to see beyond the outer facade.

29Sep/24

Alignment

September 29, 2024SermonsCommunity, Elders, God, Humility, Jesus, Love, Miracles, Prayer, Pride, Self-Examination, SinMichael

Just the other day, I went shopping at IKEA, and in the self-serve area, I managed to grab a shopping cart that had one of those wheels that seemed to have a mind of its own. Every time I hit a little seam in the concrete, the cart would dramatically swerve off in the direction of the rut. It ended up being more of a workout than a shopping experience.

Now, I suppose that I could have kicked that wheel repeatedly until it fell off, since it was causing my cart to stumble, but in the end, I just kept pulling the cart back into alignment. It was more work, but I was able to keep the cart in one piece that way.

01Sep/24

Teddy Bears and Wildflowers

September 1, 2024SermonsFaith, Faith in Action, God, Hate, Hypocrisy, Jesus, Judgment, Self-ExaminationMichael

As I was preparing for the service today, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a sermon that was the equivalent of Teddy Bears skipping through alpine meadows picking wildflowers and making bouquets to give to people?”

“I wonder what the Gospel for this week says…”

Hypocrites! You honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me!

09Jun/24

A House Divided

June 9, 2024SermonsDiscernment, Discipleship, Faith, God, Judgment, Miracles, SinMichael

And then, here comes a carpenter from Nazareth. He is performing miracles and casting out demons, and healing people, and sharing the Good News of God to all who will listen. And these leaders look at each other and say, “Well, this can’t be right. We’re the ones who are allowed to speak and act for God, not this guy.”

So what do they do?

They redefine miracles. And realign their beliefs that what they are seeing is not the full story, but that there is something shady going on behind the scenes. They reframe reality with a new theory that allows them to keep believing their own lie about their own importance.

19May/24

Jumping Out of the Nest

May 19, 2024SermonsDisciples, Discipleship, Faith, Faith in Action, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, PentecostMichael

But Pentecost is not only called the Birthday of the Church because so many people were added to the group of believers, but because there was a drastic change in the disciples themselves. And because this change in the disciples changed how the group of believers structured themselves.

12May/24

Sacred People, Sacred Spaces

May 12, 2024SermonsBaptism, Blessings, Church, Church Buildings, Community, Eucharist, God, Identity, Sacred, Spiritual Family, WorshipMichael

If we look at the first reading today, the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, we find that Jesus has told his disciples that he will be leaving them, and thenRead More…

14Apr/24

Children of God

April 14, 2024SermonsBaptism, Beloved Community, Disciples, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Fear, God, Grace, Hate, Identity, Jesus, Love, Loving Neighbor, RacismMichael

Our New Testament reading today begins with the words, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” Through our baptism, we have been made a part of a heavenly family: we have been adopted into the family of God. And, as Children of God, we have now inherited all the benefits that are due to those who look to God as a parent, and Christ as a brother. We are no longer just Americans, or Chinese, Brazilian or Latvian, German or Canadian. We are first, and foremost, citizens of the New Jerusalem, citizens of heaven, the Holy City of God. We are children of a family that transcends time and space, race and ethnicity, boundaries and borders.

31Mar/24

What Are You Looking For?

March 31, 2024SermonsCross, Easter, Faith, Fear, God, Gods Will, Jesus, Love, Miracles, Resurrection, Sin, Son of GodMichael

Imagine the amount of fear and dread that the disciples would be facing when they realized that Jesus’ body was missing.

Imagine the questions that must have come through their minds at first with the most obvious one being: Did we come to the right tomb?

First they question themselves, and then, in anger, they question others.

28Mar/24

While We Were Still Sinners

March 28, 2024SermonsCross, Faith, God, Jesus, Lent, Love, Palm Sunday, Sacrifice, Self-Examination, SinMichael

It’s easy for us to look past our own sinfulness and blame those who were there at the time calling for his death, and to see ourselves as innocent.

It’s easy for us to look past our own sinfulness and focus on the resurrection and see only the benefits that Jesus’ death on the cross brings to us.

It’s easy to look past our own sinfulness and see this week of Jesus’ passion as merely an intellectual exercise in theology and the cycles of the church year.

14Mar/24

For God So Loved

March 14, 2024SermonsCulture, Discipleship, Division, Divisions, Evangelism, Faith in Action, God, Hate, Jesus, Love, Loving Neighbor, Others, Politics, SinMichael

You may see the Rose colored stole this morning. Rather than wearing the typical Lenten purple, this Sunday, called “Laetare” Sunday, we wear a Rose colored stole. This Sunday is supposed to give us a moment when we can step back a bit from our Lenten disciplines and live in the joy of our salvation. The Latin word “Laetare” means “Rejoice!”

The Gospel this morning gives us the reason for our rejoicing. Today we read the much quoted line in scripture that says, “God so loved the world that he sent his only son that people might not perish, but have everlasting life.”