The Life of Christmas Present

Sermon for the third Sunday in Advent

The Remembrance of Christmas Past

Sermon for the second Sunday in Advent and the series "God Bless Us, Every One!"

Bah! Humbug!

Sermon from the first Sunday of Advent and our series "God Bless Us, Every One!"

November sermons

Running a little behind this month! Here are the November sermons.

"Rummage Sale"

Sermon from 10/29, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

"Christianity"

Last in the sermon series "Christianity and World Religions."

Christianity and World Religions: Questions People Ask

First in the sermon series "Christianity and World Religions." What are the questions people ask about other faiths?

Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism

Apologies for falling behind in posting recent sermons. Here are the most recent sermons in our series on Christianity and World Religions.

Christianity and World Religions: Hinduism

The second in this sermon series and the first of the world religions we tackle is Hinduism. You can also listen to mountain music from the bluegrass band!

In All Circumstances

As we all watch in horror what is happening in Houston in the wake of Harvey, all those feelings from the Detwiler fire came back. The fear and uncertainty, the despair at the scorched earth that greeted us on our return. We understand, a little, what the people in Houston are enduring.

I started thinking about the sermon I shared with you the Sunday after the fire. Here is some of our reflections on that day.

Which is easier, giving thanks in good times or bad? The answer is not as obvious as you might think. Our Pilgrim forefathers gathered together for a feast of thanksgiving after an incredibly difficult year in the New World. They lost half their population to disease and those who were left were weak and thin. Yet, they gathered together and thanked God for God’s goodness!

Horatio G. Spafford was a successful Chicago businessman who lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire. Desiring a rest and to get away, he arranged for him and his family, including his wife and four daughters, to travel to Europe. Delayed by business, he sent the others ahead of him. The ship on which they traveled collided with another and sank in just 12 minutes. His daughters drowned; his wife alone survived. Upon hearing the news, Spafford immediately left for England to join her. His ship passed over the site of the tragedy, and Spafford was moved and inspired to write the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.” He lost his children and could still say”

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

We give thanks in peace or sorrow because we know that we are not alone. God is present with us. We give thanks because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus knew joy and sorrow in his life. He lost people he loved to the cruelty and sin of men, people like his cousin John the Baptist.

We give thanks because we recognize the presence of God with us in the first responders who risk their lives to help us. We recognize the presence of God in the neighbors who go to extraordinary lengths to help, such as those neighbors who made sure the woman in labor got to the hospital to deliver her baby in safety.

Our challenge is to recognize the presence of God and to give thanks, no matter the circumstances. Keep sharing the stories of people caring for each other because that is how we see the presence of God.

Don’t give into fear because God is present with us. In the fire. In the flood. In the sunshine. In all circumstances. Give thanks.

This Sunday's special music from the chimes and the sermon from the letter to Philemon.

Let Us Love One Another

As I said on Sunday, I was raised by parents who were born in the 1920s and 1930s and raised in the South. Meaning, that they grew up with Jim Crow laws and separate but equal. I served in a church not far from a town that proudly displayed a billboard recording the number of lynchings, and that was in the 1980s! I served near another town that was a “sundown” town, meaning non-whites had to be outside the city limits before sundown or face the consequences.

I know that I still have a lot of growth to be fully accepting of people who look or sound or act different than me. I also know that each one of them is beloved of God, and when I look at them, I look at the face of Christ in them. None of them can replace me, and I can’t replace any of them. We are each a child of God who knows our names and redeems us.

One day, I will stand with them in the kingdom of God and I do not want them to gaze at me with sadness and ask, “Why did you not love me? Why did you sling insults at me, dismiss me as less than you?” Jesus reminds us that what we do and say to one another, we do and say to him.

Last weekend in Charlottesville, VA, many claiming to be followers of Christ spewed words of hatred at people. Do you think Jesus wept at this?

John writes in his first letter, “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). I offer again these words about the power of love. They are inspired by Paul and his wonderful writings about love in 1 Corinthians 13:

If I have language ever so perfectly and speak like a pundit, but have not the knack of love that grips the heart, I am nothing.

If I have decorations and diplomas, and am proficient in up-to-date methods, but have not the touch of understanding love, I am nothing.

If I am able to worst my opponents in arguments so as to make fools of them, but have not the wooing note, I am nothing.

If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and wonderful visions, but have not the love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. …

… If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of love that is kind, I am nothing.

If I can write books and publish articles that set the world agog, but fail to transcribe the word of the Cross in the language of love, I am nothing.

—Indian medical student, cited by a variety of Internet sources.

As Paul writes, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Practice love, not hate. We do not hate those who shouted such vile things, but we do resist their message and proclaim that God’s love is for all and in all, including them.

Is Grace Too Easy?

Last Sunday's sermon plus Susan Wilson's beautiful solo.

Saved by Grace

Sunday's sermon based on Ephesians 2:1-10 and including our special music!

The Light of Love

I’ve spent most of my week in meetings about recovering from the fire. The numbers in the paper that you have probably seen only scratch the surface of the impact of the fire. Many people were living in out buildings destroyed by the fire, but those aren’t counted among the number of homes lost. Others were renting the houses destroyed, and they often have no renter’s insurance. And, when their homes are rebuilt, they realize that they probably can’t afford them any longer.

 However, the outpouring of help I’ve witnessed is amazing! The way people are pulling together to care for one another. Thank you for all you have done already.

I’ve lived through disaster responses, including Hurricane Katrina in Houston and a wildfire in East Texas. I’ve learned some valuable lessons. Right now, as the burned scars are visible and the sound of fire engines makes a shiver run up our spines, we are ready and willing to step up. However, recovery takes a long time, a lot longer than you realize. Many of those who lost everything will still be putting the pieces of their lives together this time next year. The media has already moved on to the next disaster, and, as our lives resume their normal pace, we will want to move on too. The task for us as a church and followers of Christ is to remain present for those who are striving to find a new normal.

I offer these words about the power of love. They are inspired by Paul and his wonderful writings about love in 1 Corinthians 13:

If I have language ever so perfectly and speak like a pundit, but have not the knack of love that grips the heart, I am nothing.

If I have decorations and diplomas, and am proficient in up-to-date methods, but have not the touch of understanding love, I am nothing.

If I am able to worst my opponents in arguments so as to make fools of them, but have not the wooing note, I am nothing.

If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and wonderful visions, but have not the love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. …

… If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of love that is kind, I am nothing.

If I can write books and publish articles that set the world agog, but fail to transcribe the word of the Cross in the language of love, I am nothing.

—Indian medical student, cited by a variety of Internet sources.

As Paul writes, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Shine the hope of love into others’ lives!

Two Men Named Ananias

Sunday's sermon was about two men named Ananias from the book of Acts. Two very different men!

Now Thank We All Our God

Sunday, we gave our thanks and praise to God as we gathered following the lifting of the evacuation for Mariposa from the threat of the Detwiler fire. We continue to pray for all those affected by this fire and for the first responders who are working so hard.

After the Fire

What a way to start my ministry in Mariposa! The Detwiler fire is still burning and there are thousands of firefighters still here to make sure that it is contained and eliminated. The pictures of the devastation are horrific. It is like an alien landscape. I thank God for all those who thought less of their own lives and cared for others. I grieve for all who lost homes and possessions and irreplaceable heirlooms. Yes, things can be replaced, and some day they will know that, but today, they just know that their lives will never be the same. They have lost something that cannot be replaced – a sense of safety and invulnerability.

 The questions that always come up in these situations go something like this: “What can we do in this situation?” and “Where is God?” The two are not unrelated.

Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest, a theologian, and a true servant for Christ. His many writings, such as this one, have inspired countless Christians.

 “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it’s those, who instead of giving advice, solutions or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”

 God promises to be with us in our pain, to touch our hearts and wounds with God’s love. Jesus tells his followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1) Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be with us. Paul describes the work of the Spirit in our lives at times of trouble in Romans: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) God does not promise a life without struggle, wounds, or pain. But God does promise to be with us through the good times and the bad.

 Often God’s love and presence in those hard times comes through another person. Think of a hard time in your life and who was present for you then. I trained to be part of a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Emergency Response Team (ERT), if the need arose. Our primary purpose was to be a presence in the lives of those who had gone through whatever crisis has occurred. I wouldn’t be there to do search and rescue or repair homes. I would be there to assist in clean up and listen and care, to do what Henri Nouwen describes above – share the pain and touch the wounds with a warm and tender hand.

 If you want to know how to help, call the church office and I’ll give you the latest needs. As I write this, we are planning to get gift cards for distribution.

 In the meantime, give thanks to God the times when someone has been there for you when you needed it.

Podcasts from Sunday

We have a bonus podcast of music by the bluegrass band! Hope you enjoy.

How Big Is Your Jesus?

This week's devotion:

I once started a pastor’s book club that read books offering some new or different perspectives on faith.  One of the books we read was Bishop Will Willimon’s Why Jesus? The Willimon book opened up a new perspective on Jesus for us.  We realized that we had “tamed” Jesus, made him nice and safe.  And in the process, we made him more like us and less like God.  He remains a great teacher and prophet, but he’s not as edgy or offensive.  Willimon reminds us that Jesus was neither tame nor safe.  He is the Son of God and he was not crucified for being too nice.

As we talked about the book and the picture of Jesus there, I was reminded of a story:

A man was going through customs on the way back from Haiti.  The person ahead of him had bought lots of costly jewelry but was waved through by the customs officer with a mere glance.  The man had only an inexpensive carved head of Jesus.  But it was big, about knee-high, so he had wrapped it in several layers of towels in a burlap bag.  As the officer dug deeper into the towels, expecting expensive hidden items, suddenly he looked up and asked, “How big is your Jesus, anyway?”

It’s hard not to limit Jesus to what our human brains can handle, what our egos want to hear.  Jesus is bigger than that; he is bigger and wilder than we want to admit.  And that makes us uncomfortable.  So we try to bring Jesus down to our size.

God’s grace and love as embodied by Jesus are greater than we can ever understand.  That’s good news!  Our Jesus is bigger than we admit or know.  The writer of Psalm 103 tried to capture God’s greatness: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).  We cannot tame or limit Jesus and we don’t have to be afraid of the greatness of God.  Even when Jesus’ words step on our toes or point out the log in our eye.  His love for us is so great that it overcomes all.  As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, Jesus didn’t wait for us to get our lives straight.  He died for us while we were yet sinners, and that proves God’s love toward us.

How big is YOUR Jesus?