Sermons & Worship (Page 31)

Matthew 5:1-12 The twelve verses which I just read are called the Beatitudes, from the Latin beatitudo meaning blessed.  In these twelve short verses, Jesus describes the full spectrum of human life and if you were to place these verses over the days of your time here on earth, you would undoubtedly find a time in your life that fit every one of his descriptions.  Yes, you would say, as you reviewed the years of your existence, here is the time when…

Galatians 2:19-21 We’ve celebrated our children and youth who participated in the 2019-2020 program year, and now I want briefly to share with you a story from one of my first youth groups way back in the 1980s.  This was a group that included Judy Bowden, Marcia Stevens, Tom Meacham, and Kristen Meissner, among others.  Anyway, in those days I was more ambitious in my programming and one weekend, I took the youth group to my parent’s house in Geneseo…

John 15:9-11 This is the 13th week of Zoom Church.  13 weeks; that’s over 3 months; a quarter of the year.  Back in March, when the state shut down the schools and a wave of closures swept across New York, the church leadership met to discuss moving to Zoom and our initial timetable that we announced to the congregation stated that virtual worship would last for “the next two weeks at least.”   Though we already suspected it might be…

These past months have been difficult for all of us but I know from my conversations with them, that it has been especially hard on our youth and young people.  The pandemic was hard enough as they were suddenly isolated from friends and lost the independence that is so important at their age, but now watching our communities torn with strife and the violence of injustice has been heart-wrenching.  This morning, then I want to address my thoughts to the…

Acts 19:1-6 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the…

Acts 16:11-15 Rather than posting full sermons, people have requested that I instead post the reflection from Zoom Church, our virtual service live online. “If you have judged me to be faithful, come and stay at my house.” Lydia may have been a brand new Christian, fresh out of the baptismal waters, but she had already grasped the central and defining character of the Christian calling: hospitality.  Hospitality toward strangers was a part of the faith life of both Jews…

Acts 15:1-6 Living in the world of Zoom has been hard.  When the pandemic forced us all to forgo our normal human interactions in exchange for a life shared through a screen, we had to learn new skills, things like finding where the mute button is on Zoom or figuring out the best platform to use to teach a college class.  Even I, who am somewhat of a geek, have learned more than I ever wanted to know about servers…

Romans 6:5-11 During times of difficulty, people often turn to their faith for comfort and meaning.  In the rituals, the community, and the teachings of their religion, they can find direction and guidance, the support of others, and ways of making sense of their lives even when the world has suddenly turned upside down.  In an increasingly global community, we may have friends or neighbors who we know to be people of faith but their faith may be different from…

John 3:1-8June 25, 2006; April 19, 2020    Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus…

Romans 8:31-39 from April 11, 2004 A little while ago, I saw a quiz designed to test how well a person is in touch with their natural surroundings and, priding myself on being somewhat of an amateur naturalist, I decided to take the quiz.  The first question said, “Name five songbirds that return to your area in the spring.”  That was easy; I am always attuned to the sound of birds establishing their breeding territories in March and April and…