Sermons & Worship from June 2021

Galatians 3:27-29 Some time ago, in the pre-pandemic years when people went out to eat, I was at a fancy restaurant for a family celebration of some sort when the couple at the next table ordered Sannakji.  A few minutes later, the server brought out a dish of raw baby octopus, their tiny tentacles spilling out over a plate doused in sesame oil, and as I watched, the couple popped those fleshy heads into their mouths with glee.  I cringed…

II Corinthians 4:7-11; I Corinthians 15:51-54     Today is the longest day of the year and today summer officially begins.  It is finally safe to put away your snow shovels, to switch out your long johns for shorts, and enjoy the outdoors.  When I was a child, before the days of ticks and Lyme disease, summer was also the time to put away shoes and socks and run barefoot through the grass picking wildflowers, chasing butterflies, tasting the clover, and chewing…

Genesis 28:10-17; Luke 7:36-50 One of the central paradoxes of the Christian faith is that we talk a lot about God guiding us, helping us, and being with us in times of trouble, and yet for all of our talk about God’s presence, most of us have had few, if any times, that we can point to and say without doubt that we knew in that moment with undeniable clarity that God was present.  Even if you have had an occasional mystical…

I Corinthians 6:12     I want to begin by asking you a question.  It seems to be a simple question, but I want you to consider it carefully before you answer. “Is there a Christian ethic?”  In other words, is there a set of ethical principles that you must adhere to if you claim to be a follower of Christ? I would answer “yes” to that question because if there is no ethic, then your behaviors don’t matter: you do what…