6 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with […]

There’s a lot going on in today’s reading from John’s Gospel. And I mean A LOT! This passage, filled with images both familiar and odd, can be a lot to take in. St. Augustine chose an eagle to represent St. John because he felt the theology of the Fourth Evangelist soared so high above the other gospels, but sometimes it reaches heights that can be hard for many of us – both in the pulpit and in the pew – to follow…

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability…
We love happy endings, don’t we?
We love the bad guy losing.
We love the couple falling in love….

Are there things that you don’t like to do? Are there daily or weekly chores? Is there a to do list? We all have those tasks that we would rather not do, but we still must complete. Sometimes, we are give a job and it is a difficulty chore. It is no different for us or folks from past generations. Sometimes we get called to do something that we are unsure of, but are invited to serve none the less. A prime example is Ananias. He is aware of Saul. The church in Damascus has been talking about Saul and its members rightfully afraid of him — he has, after all, been dragging Christians out of house after house, throwing them into prison, and desiring their deaths.

You have those moments when you are with people. You know that that moment is sacred and holy and special. One of those moments took place in September of 2007. I was serving a Presbyterian Church in Norfolk Virginia…

Let me share with you this morning a siloquey, not from the bard Shakespeare, but from another source; a little more recent writing. “From the oldest of time people danced…”

Ah, King David! A hero’s hero! A man’s man! We all know the story from a couple of weeks ago…