July 2016 Blog Posts (6)

Notice that the word "dammed" has no N in it. It looks like we are becoming a nation of hoarders, keeping all good things for ourselves and consigning to hell - literally - anyone we don't like. The ways we are talking to and about those with whom we disagree, in language ranging from impure to greedy to obscene to silly to vulgar, is no way for believers to act, according to Paul. In a life rich toward God, a Jesus-follower must treat themselves and every other human being as made in the…

The Lord's Prayer is a call to action, not a loyalty oath. The life of the baptized is not a spectator sport, it is a life lived in, with, for, and as an answer to the prayers of the others. There is no better time than in the midst of chaos to proclaim: Baptized We LIVE! In God, we live and move and have our being.

Read the sermon here OR …

After a month of reeling from chaos to confusion to anarchy, where shall we find peace? Paul gives us pretty explicit instructions - not on how to find it, but on how to bring it. Listen as Deacon Cindy Roehl preaches on The Peace that Exceeds All Understanding. After the sermon, we either said or sang (depending on which service) the beautiful prayer…

In 2010, William Ury gave a TED talk called "The Walk from 'No' to 'Yes' ." In this talk, Ury, a person who facilitates peace talks in some of the most intractable contexts in the world, organized an "Abraham Walk" from Ancient Ur (in the southernmost tip of today's Iraq), through to Haran (in present day Turkey), then down the Palestinian coast to Jerusalem. Christians, Jews and Muslims…

How much hotter does the water have to get before we DO something? More black men shot by police officers; white cops murdered by angry Army veterans: has this become normal? We have to say NO to any more of this hateful violence. After listening to the sermon here, come back and read what I think we should DO about it …

The list of tragedies is mushrooming. What do we do? Do we bomb the terrorists back to the Stone Age? Do we curl up and succumb to "compassion fatigue"? Or, is there a third way? The Gospel of Jesus says there is, and it is the way that respects the dignity of every human being, bringing liberty and justice for all. Not just for the lucky few, but for everyone. Listen to the sermon …