View Archived SermonsListen to this Sermon 1 Samuel 16, Romans 12: 1-2 Smoke and Mirrors: the Body and the Media TUMC, September 23, 2012 I wish I had a mirror here in front of this circle of chairs, facing all of you. A big one, one in which, if you would stand in front of it you could see your whole body. And then I wish that some of you, one by one, would come and stand in front…
View Archived SermonsListen to this Sermon Proverbs 3: 1-8, Romans 6: 12-14 Good morning and welcome to our Fall theme – Looking in the Mirror. Every time I have mentioned the title of our fall theme to some one, the immediate initial reaction is nervousness. We’re going to, “Look in the mirror?” My sense is that we have this love/hate relationship with mirrors. We do and we don’t want to see the image that is reflected back to us.…
View Archived SermonsListen to this Sermon Gathering Wisdom in its Seasons (retitled “Sermon on Teaching”) by Jeff Taylor September 9, 2012 Ephesians 4: 1-7, 11-13; Acts 18: 23-28 When I was reminded this week that we are back to printing bulletins and was asked for a title for this sermon, my poetic instincts and my natural inclination to “make connections” quickly led me to, “Gathering wisdom in its seasons.” It references the summer theme just concluded and connects it…
View Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon “A Time to Speak with Clarity” by Ryan Janzen ABSTRACT The emergence of mitigated language in journalism, music, aircraft cockpits, and in the church. The church’s role in being clear about our Christian beliefs to newcomers, to the outside world, and to ourselves. The tragic downfall of some necessary intellectual forces within society, vs. acts of love manifested in fearless pursuit of what is morally right, guided by Jesus. Scripture…
View Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon Ending at the Beginning… beginning at the end Ecclesiastes 3:1, 9-15 This Sunday marks– the end of the summer – the end of our time with Jonathan and Maureen as our Pastors of Youth Ministries – and the end of our series on Ecclesiastes Endings are important and endings can be difficult. But endings are also opportunities to step back and look at the big picture. This morning, I will…
View Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 I might as well tell it like it is and let you know that it was the Olympics that inspired my choice of topic for this morning’s sermon. For everything there is a season, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing… There is a lot of embracing going on at the Olympics. The image that most poignantly portrayed for me the power of embrace was…
View Archived Sermons Listen to This Sermon Howling between the lightning, lost in the storm of my endless night, I seek your name oh God! I don’t want your light blinds me in the middle of the horror, because I need light to go on … Is what I have learned from you, not useful to live? I feel that my faith falters, God, that bad people live better than me.. If life is hell and the honest…
See Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon A time to be born and a time to die… July 15, 2012 I have in this bag some potatoes. Actually, they’re really old potatoes, rummaged out from the back recesses of my potato cupboard last weekend. I know you don’t have any like this at your house. They had to finally come out because of a leaky sink – that’s a longer and completely unrelated story. These potatoes were in a paper…
See Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon My newspaper carrier can never deliver my newspaper on time. It’s always late. It’s supposed to be delivered by 6:00 AM, but usually it doesn’t arrive until 6:45 AM at the earliest. On most days, I don’t mind, since I usually don’t leave the house before 7, but on the days when I leave earlier, I find it really annoying. It makes me angry. There – I’ve confessed my anger. I feel…