"Oh, I remember you.  You're the one that......"

What do you fear someone might remember you by?  Are there things you wish people would forget about you?  I asked that question in church yesterday and received a warm round of chuckles.  I assumed an answer.

An old friend might remember something you said or did that you wish would be forgotten.  Our kids do, too.  It seems like no one is good at remembering the things we want them to.  Is it any wonder, then, why some people fear meeting God in any intimate way?  I'm sure God has the ability to remember any and every thing related to human existence, and beyond.  That includes Spring Break 1982, or whatever year you're trying to forget.

So, what does God want to remember?  For those who stand in anxious fear of God, the answer might surprise you.  This sermon suggests that God's grace steers what God remembers about us.  That is, grace is God's memory.  Praise God!

Have a listen to the sermon entitled A Selective Memory.  As you listen, think about your experiences with grace, and hear the two-fold challenge at the end of the sermon.  And, of course, share your thoughts.

++If you're reading by email or news reader, click here to listen to the sermon.++

"There is no excuse new under the sun," is what I think the Bible says.  You can imagine what excuses, both lame and crafty, a professor hears every semester.  This professor gave it some thought and came up with the excuses he would not accept for late work.  Tell the truth; how many of these have you had to use?


His list got me thinking: What excuses are unacceptable for missing church?  Are there good excuses?  Psalm 25 asks God to, "not remember the sins of my youth..."  Like the debilitating shame of buying a Justin Bieber CD?

Hmmm.  Now, I'm wondering if we should share those excuses or not.  Some of you might try them...again. 

Well, nonetheless, let's get to building an excuse list.  Stay blessed...john

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The question I used to open our worship yesterday was, "Have you ever been called a troublemaker?" Giggles, murmurs and smiles were plenty.  What does that mean?

In this last sermon in a series focusing on healing, we considered the various troublemakers found in Mark 1:40-45, beginning with Jesus.  Jesus, yes Jesus, was a troublemaker.  Deal with it.  Oh, he probably was as sweet as you sing him to be, but a troublemaker nonetheless.  

The divine troublemaker calls out us troublemakers and offers healing.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

++If you are reading by email or newsletter, click here to listen to the sermon.++

I saw this picture and thought of the book of Ecclesiastes. 

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Most people remember that book for the famous time and a place for everything, etc, etc lines.  Of course, those are great words of wisdom. But some of the book almost kind of reads like the thought the artist had behind this image.  Mr. Ecclesiastes almost comes across like an old teacher who has had enough of his youthful students.  "Go ahead," he says, "be young and dumb.  It's not like you're going to listen to me now anyways."  Maybe that is a bit harsh, but maybe not.

"Take Life as it Comes" is the heading for Ecclesiastes 9 in the Bible I have in front of me.  Here is a piece of that chapter:

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.   --Ecclesiastes 9:7-12

Our lives of full of joy and pain (pump it up, pump it up!). Through it all, God is with us. Amen.

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I had billed yesterday's sermon as my shortest one ever.  And it almost was.  Think about that: Many pastors pride themselves on being able to preach more minutes.  I am sure there is a preacher merit badge for that.  Here I am, though, shooting for less.  What has become of me?  Something about quality vs. quantity?


The plan this Sunday was to preach for five minutes, and still know I can do it!  I got carried away with the last part and went on for three extra minutes.  A five-minute sermon may sound to you  like an easy day at the office, but it is not, at least if you want to do it right.  So, when you push play below, you'll listen for 9 minutes and 14 seconds--yes, you will, you will... That time does include our reading of the prayer of confession, which began at about the eight minute mark. 

Why does any of this matter? Well, maybe it doesn't--kind of like the halftime show last night. It did for me, however.

This was the second sermon that we focused on healing.  Several people have told me this was a topic they appreciated hearing about.  What I wanted to do in these sermons is make sure to clear the air and address some of the more unhelpful, and possibly unfaithful, ideas about healing and replace them with more healing truths about our life with God.  Also, I don't think most of us realize how much healing there needs to be in the church.  Of course, I'm not just talking about physical or medical condition that need to be healed.  People in our pews are hurt, broken down, depressed, angry, addicted, oblivious, distracted, consumed...........

We need God to heal us in many ways.

What I wanted to communicate in yesterday's sermon is that God wants to heal, and offers healing to us in many ways.  That offer was found for us yesterday in our communion celebration.  Communion is not just something we do to remember a night in Jesus' life.  In our Communion moments God is at work in us.  So, the point of the short sermon was to get people to focus on the power of God in Communion.  We should not think of Communion as an after thought.  What I want to say is not as important as what God wants to do on a Sunday morning.

So, I think God's healing was felt by many of us there.  Although you and I cannot share Communion now, think about the 2 things in this sermon the next time you are able to.  And may God's healing be with you now.

++If you are reading by email or news reader, click here to listen to the sermon entitled Two Things.++

Time does not heal.  God does.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
   and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
   and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31