Joy in the Journey

What follows is the homily presented at the Clarion Association Fall Meeting on Sunday, October 26, 2014. Matthew: 14:22-33 This summer there was a movie that has become popular in Christian circles.  It hit movie theaters in the spring and made the top five in ticket sales during its first weekend.  It has been played in churches around the country and I suspect maybe even in your church.  If you haven’t guessed by now, the movie is God’s Not Dead.  But before the movie came out, the title song, “God’s Not Dead” a rock anthem by the band Newsboys was a Christian radio hit.   It's a catchy tune and a powerful message!  I think there is an even more powerful message here.  It is a message that we might miss if we aren’t paying close attention.  If God is not Dead, then neither are We!  This is important for us in the Church today.  So, to make sure you are getting the message, every time you hear the phrase, "God's n...

"If the Doctor is still the Doctor... he will have my back.” - Clara Oswald, Doctor's Who Companion, Doctor Who, Deep Breath, Series 8, Episode 1, 08/23/2014 BBC America Most people should be aware by now that I am a geek.  I freely admit it.  I can't hide it.  I have been one since my childhood and now that I am in my 50's, I finally feel like I don't have to hide it.  Not that I ever did.  Although there have been times when, as a Christian and Pastor, some might have wished that I had.  More than once, I have had to answer the questions: How can you watch that garbage?  Doesn't many of the themes and images of these types of shows upset you? Doesn't that stuff hurt your faith? I usually change the subject when these questions come up because I doubt that the one asking the questions truly cares to hear my answer.  They have already judged me by how they judge these shows.  It is the old guilty by association trap. Somewher...

What follows is an essay I wrote in the Spring of 2003 for the Systematic Theology Class of the Penn West Academy for Ministry. The relationship between faith and history is a turbulent one at the least.  Much like a pendulum, popular thought and theory tends to swing from one side to the other.  Beginning with the historical period called enlightenment, the relationship of these two schools became strained and set off a debate that still rages on in many to this day.  Faith in Jesus, in his teachings and his death and resurrection came under direct challenge as scholars began to rely on the supremacy of human intellect.   During this period scholars began to view the human ability to reason as perfect.  During this time great strides were being made in the sciences and the liberal arts.  Our ability to solve complex problems, to imagine, invent, create, and conquer brought about an idea that our ability to reason could solve every puzzle and ...

New music Monday - Thrive by Casting Crown http://youtu.be/qQ71RWJhS_M

Over the last twenty to thirty years or more, our society has become pluralistic.  We celebrate our diversity.    We highlight all the things that make us unique and different.   We go out of our way to show that it is our differences that make us special.   Today, personal aspects, once thought to be best hidden from the masses, are paraded with pride. We have learned over the years that differences in sex, race, creed, and sexual preference do not make anyone better or worse than another.  That is a positive change in our attitudes.  We have also learned that taken to the extreme, this idea can be just as harmful as the extreme at the other end of this pendulum.  I once watched a news report about women attempting to join a big city fire department.  One of the tests that all fire fighter candidates had to pass was the ability to throw a one hundred and fifty pound dummy over the shoulder and carry it to safety.  Some women ca...

What follows is an essay I wrote in May 2005 for my New Testament class.  I welcome your thoughts and comments. Are the Gospel’s trustworthy?  I have a hard time imagining my grandmother ever worrying about this question.   As a little boy growing up in the farm country of Central PA , my Sunday morning activities were predestined from my birth.   The only way I was able to miss Church and Sunday school was if I was so sick that I could not get out of bed.   In those early years of Childhood, my church family was for the most part, my paternal family.   Except for a couple of families, my extended family inhabited this little church in the country.   My Aunts and Uncles taught Sunday school classes, played the piano and made up the leadership of the church.   The choir was a family portrait of brothers and cousins of all ages and sizes.   At the head of this group was my grandmother.   I can still see her in her prayer pose, her hea...

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14 It is a terrible story. Listen, if you were going to try and get someone, anyone to believe in God as we know God, a God of love and mercy, a God who offers grace through the sacrifice of himself, a God who is real and at work in our lives, you would not lead off with this story. You would naturally tell the story of the Cross, the resurrection, the birth of the Church, but not a story where at first read God comes off as a cruel and sadistic. Although there are those who enjoy a God who is just that, it is not the way to win hearts and minds, and certainly not what Jesus teaches about God. Although, not everything Jesus taught is meant to give us the warm and fuzzies. Again there are those that would also be completely happy with the warm and fuzzy God. Here what Jesus says in the Lectionary’s Gospel text for today from Matthew 10:37-42. “37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter ...

The following is a short skit I wrote based on Genesis 22:1-14. Please feel free to use as you may, as long as you give proper credit and let me know you how you were able to use my work.  Thank You! Players: Narrator, Young Man, Old Man Scene: a young man and an old man are center stage.  They can be walking in place, or sitting as if riding in a vehicle, or acting if they are riding an animal of some type. The narrator stands off to the side of the stage and provides the story.  During the narration, the two travelers are looking around but avoiding eye contact.  Occasionally one will start to say something, but stops before uttering a sound.  They continue this stalemate for the entire period of the narration. Narrator: A father/son trip. That is how he explained to his wife and mother of his son.  The two would go up into the mountains for a short period of time, perhaps three or four days to bond and to worship the Eternal One....

I do not consider myself a birdwatcher.  I do take notice of some birds, like eagles, hawks and owls.  I will also stop and watch a Cardinal, Blue Jay or Hummingbird.  Ducks, Geese, and Chickens fall into another category altogether and I am not sure why.  Perhaps it is because I grew up on a farm where they were domesticated and part of the food chain.  And as most people who live in the more northern climates of the United States, I notice the first robin in the spring.  But that is about as far as it goes.  When it comes to birds, there has to be something unusual or rare for me to take notice.  The usual flying creatures are simply background in my world.  Crows, swallows and sparrows are just there.  I suppose I would miss them if they weren't, but of that I cannot be sure.   But fear not for the common, the everyday, the mundane birds of our backyard.  There is someone who cares.  Jesus said, “Are not two spar...

The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is perhaps the one concept of the Christian faith that confuses both believers and unbelievers.  The word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible.  It is a systematic way of understanding God that would bring unity to believers and combat heresies that were dividing the early church. It is still a concept that causes some difficulties today.   Perhaps this is why the church calendar has set aside the Sunday after Pentecost as Trinity Sunday.  It provides an opportunity for worship leaders and pastors to provide teaching to help people to better understand the concept of three in one. The Holy Three in One has been explained in many ways over the years.  One example looks at a the tree.  One tree stands on it own, but that tree can be seen as three parts, the roots, the trunk, and the leaves.  Three in one.  One could take this analogy a little farther by looking at a fruit tree and seeing the fru...

Exodus 19:2-8     Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the commandments from the Lord, set them before the elders of the people.  “The people all answered as one: ‘Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.’” (Exodus 19:8, NRSV) Brave words!  Words spoken with great fervor and intent by a people recently freed from slavery and witness to the miracle power of God.   A promise doomed to be broken.  Now before we condemn those people, we need to realize that we too are prone to make some very big promises that are not always kept.  We can get caught up in the moment, carried away by emotions, and pledge ourselves to do things that turnout to be difficult to impossible to keep.   Anyone divorced?  Anyone ever contemplate divorce?  See how easy it is. Now don’t be too hard on yourself.  Yes, the followers of Moses made an impossible-to-be-kept promise and God knew it.  It was part...

This is a short skit that I wrote in response to the Exodus 19 scripture in which Moses presents the word of the Lord to the Elders.   Please feel free to use as you see fit.  All I ask is that you let me know that you found it useful and give credit to where you got it.  Thanks! Scene:  Moses has just returned from Mount Sinai with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  Moses has met with the elders of the people and they are discussing his report and their response. (Elders discuss among themselves.  They are mumbling among themselves as the scene opens) Elder #1: I know we all have concerns, but Moses has been right up to now. God certainly has proved himself and Moses over the past few months.  Elder #2: An something very strange definitely happened to Moses while he was on the mountain.  I mean he was shining white when he came down. Elder #3: Shining is an understatement, I got sunburned just from standing too close to him...

One would think it would be a simple thing; to find joy in the celebration of Pentecost.  After all, it is a celebration.  We celebrate the birth of the Church, the ending of the story.  But we should not and dare not forget the beginning of this particular part of the New Testament story. Pentecost begins with a small group of shell-shocked, frightened followers of Jesus.   They saw Jesus killed!  Then they heard the incredible stories that he has risen.  Many had witnessed seen Jesus alive and believed.  But what now? They still struggled with what all this meant to their immediate future.  What happens now?  What are they supposed to do with this incredible information?  It was a case of double shock for these leftover followers.  They have witnessed death and resurrection.  No wonder they were dazed, confused, and waiting; not sure what to do next.  It took the breath of the Holy Spirit to ignite th...