“God’s Mandate for a New Order” The story in the 17th chapter of Matthew is called the Miracle of the Transfiguration. It seems like either you believe it or you don’t and there is no place in between. Rationalists and children of the Enlightenment will say that it makes no sense. It’s just one more… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, March 5, 2023
“All About: Living Diversity” The theme for today is “All About Living Diversity.” I would start by asking you to recall the Protestant Reformation, which began about 500 years ago. That seems long, long ago and far, far away, but as William Faulkner said, “history isn’t dead, it isn’t even history yet.” The Reformation let… Read more Worship reflection Sunday, February 19, 2023
“All About: Thinking Christians” Phil asked me the other day if I would offer some reflections on our mission statement, which says: All About: Thinking Christians, Living Diversity, Seeking Justice. So, I want to thank him for this suggestion. Today the topic is “All About Thinking Christians.” The text for this theme is Romans 12.… Read more Worship reflection Sunday, February 12, 2023
“Blessed in Bad Times” Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. I want to focus on this text today because there is too much mourning and too little comforting in the United States today. And we are still in January. The year is just beginning. National data for 2020 shows that in… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, January, 29, 2023
“Jesus Begins His Work” The reading for today is titled, “Jesus begins his work.” He is walking along the shore of Lake Galilee and sees Peter and Andrew throwing their nets into the sea and he calls to them, “Follow me,” Jesus said, “I will teach you how to fish in the ocean of life.”… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, January 22, 2023
“John’s Word for Us” John is in the wilderness preach’n up a storm. He’s in the desert. In the Bible when they tell you someone is in the desert you might as well hang a sign on the door, “Entering the danger zone.” With apologies to Kenny Loggins, the danger zone ain’t up there in… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, January 15, 2023
“A Guiding Star” Marcus Borg says in his book Reading the Bible Again for the First Time that for many Christians the Bible, which was once a lamp unto the feet of the faithful, has become a stumbling block. We don’t know what to make of it. It doesn’t make sense to take it literally,… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, January 8, 2023
“Mary’s Song” I owe the inspiration of this sermon to Cardinal Suenens of the Roman Catholic Church, the Women of Kansas, and Margarett Atwood. An unlikely trinity but God works in strange and wondrous ways divine miracles to perform. Let me start with Cardinal Suenens. He was a Dutch cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, December 11, 2022
“Change Is Coming” World HIV/AIDS day was December 1st. The first global World HIV/AIDS day was in 1988. A lot of things have changed since 1988, but according to the experts there are still 38 million people living with the HIV virus in the world today. In many places they have to deal not only… Read more Worship refection Sunday, December 4, 2022
“Dreams Without Borders” If confession is good for the soul, it is also good for the sermon. I stole the title for this sermon from the Dreamers. DACA, Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, is a federal program protecting certain people from the threat of deportation. Later Congress passed the Citizenship Act, which allowed DACA Dreams… Read more Worship Reflection Sunday, November 13, 2022