Mark 1:1-8 Mr. B. was a good guy, but a little scary. He was one of the more active members of the New Canaan Church that I served. He was a big man with a deep voice and a very commanding presence. Not one of those guys whose smile was particularly obvious. If you were […]
Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Mark 13:24-37 “The powers that be will lull us to sleep by reassuring us that they have our best interests at heart as they pursue their worldly agendas. They play to our fears, our prejudices, our self-interests, so we do not notice their demonic behaviours. Beware. Keep alert. Keep awake. […]
Matthew 25:31-46 I have a colleague in ministry who only reads the first part of this passage to his congregation. When the second part comes around – the part about ignoring the needy and facing eternal punishment – he simply ends the reading. I understand the move in a way. He believes in a God […]
Nov. 16, 2014 1 Thes 5:1-11 Matthew 25:14-30 I want to tell you two stories. Then I’ll tell you why I’m sharing them. By the way, they both come from a book called The Spirituality of Imperfection, which I would recommend to anyone. The basic premise is that we are by nature imperfect beings; we […]
Haggai 1:15b-2:9 Mark 12:41-44 I have a stewardship joke for you: Two men have survived a plane crash out in the Pacific Ocean. They wind up upon the shores of a deserted island. The one man is panicked. “How will we ever get off of this island? How will they find us? How are we […]
Exodus 33:12-23 For our ancestors in many of the branches that came to form the UCC the issue of election was a big one. For John Calvin, certainly, it was huge. But also for theologians since him, and not just theologians but church-goers too, it was an immensely important idea. This concept that God had […]
Exodus 32:1-14 Philippians 4:1-9 We tend to think of idolatry as an antiquated or old-fashioned sin. Images like the one painted by today’s O.T. lesson come to mind – ancient peoples dancing around golden calves or some other man-made item, which has been declared divine. To modern minds the very idea of it seems ridiculous. […]
Ex. 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Philippians 3:4b-14 Matthew 21:33-46 The problem with a religion of rules – a religion that is all about the do’s and don’ts and the laws of faith – is that it ultimately takes the God of Jesus Christ out of the picture. If being in a “state of grace,” – that […]
Sept. 28, 2-14 Philippians 2:1-13 I introduced a lecture series at my former church where I invited mostly Yale Divinity School professors to come talk for 45 minutes or so on subjects related to their particular expertise; subjects that were also relevant and applicable for folks in the pews who were trying to live a […]
Sept. 21, 2014 Matthew 20:1-16 “But, dad, it’s not fair!” “Mom, why do I always have to do it?” …Have you heard those words before? I used to say them to my parents all the time. It drove me crazy that nobody else in the house was ever called upon to take out the garbage. […]