A Really Simple Question

John 5:1-15 It’s a really simple question asked by Jesus: Do you want to get well? He asks the question to man who has been an invalid for 38 years. What possible complication could come to this man’s life if he became well? What possible complication can come to life if we say ‘yes’ to [...]

A Politician After God’s Own Heart

1 Samuel 16:1-13 A 4 year old tugged on her dad who had been watching political ads, begging him to stop and read her a fairy tale. Weary of seeing all these endless campaign ads, he agreed and started reading the fairy tale, but she interrupted him, looked up into his face and asked: “Daddy, [...]

Marks of the Meal

Marks of the Meal 1 Corinthians 11:17-26 At the beginning of our lesson today, Paul tell the people of First Church Corinth that he is not happy with them. It has to do with how they are treating one another. Paul’s words carry weight; he means what he says and he expects those in Corinth [...]

An Amazing Story of Some Friends and Jesus

Mark 2:1-12 The gospel of Mark wastes no time in getting down to business – a single sentence introduction, and not a digression to be found from beginning to end. An event has taken place that radically changes the way we look at and experience the world, and Mark can’t wait to tell us about [...]

Unconditionally and Wholeheartedly

1 John 4:7-12 There are lots of words floating around this morning because of the joyous occasion that marks the baptism of Harper and Nicholas. Baptism. Celebration. Special. Babies. Family. Sacrament. Parents. God. Covenant. Grace. Two words that come to my mind about today are unconditionally and wholeheartedly. My hope and prayer is that these [...]

How About You?

Matthew 16:13-28 The start of a new school year brings lot of memories to mind for me – some involving our own family and some just about me. I can’t believe our kids are as old as they are. Probably every parent says that. As I pulled out of the driveway Thursday morning, I was [...]

Got Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-16 In the early 1990’s, milk producers in California asked a question: What can we do to increase sales of milk? After a few months of conversation among themselves, they hired an advertising agency. Here’s the result: (Play video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLSsswr6z9Y The ad was first aired in October of 1993 and while it was created [...]

In Between the Book Ends of Life

Lamentations 3:19-33 For the Hebrew people in the Old Testament, there are two events – two bookends, if you will – that define their history: The Exodus from Egypt and the Exile into Babylon. Exodus and Exile are the bookends holding together the wide-ranging experiences of God’s people that fall between the joy of exodus [...]

Designing Marriage

Genesis 1:27; 2:18-25 Foundations – whether to homes or nations – are important. It’s entirely possible to forget that because we get distracted. (play video clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo It’s not too hard to get distracted; even good intentions can cause distractions. When we neglect our foundations, we’re neglecting the obvious. When we neglect the obvious, we’re [...]