Christ Our Host September 23, 2007 Jeff Taylor Text: II Corinthians 5:14-21 Revelation 21:1-5, 22-27 Isaiah 60:1-5 Visit with me, as I recall it, a small apartment in 1990s greater Los Angeles: too many pieces of furniture for its size, a small kitchenette, a dining area with one of those early 70s faux-wood extending tables with the super heavy metal frame; and everywhere you look: mail, piles and piles of mail, almost all of it unopened. Lorina…
Basins, Pitchers & Crosses September 9, 2007Michele Rizoli Text: Jeremiah 18:1-11 Luke 14:25-33 Pottery has been around one way or another for about 10,000 years, it’s one of the most ancient artifacts (as any archaeologist could probably tell you). I guess it was an easy concept to figure out that one minute the clay could be squishing through your toes when you walked by the lake and a few days later the same stuff could be dry…
Walking the Race August 19th, 2007Jeremy Bergen Text: Hebrews 11:29-12:2 I didn’t want this sermon to in any way to be about “what I did on my summer holidays.” I really didn’t. After all, it has sometimes felt like Rebecca and I have been talking quite frequently about our trip to Spain in June. But, as I reflected on our texts for the week, and our summer theme of “at the crossroads, following God from grace to grace,” I just…
Being Rich Towards God August 5th, 2007 Kevin Derksen Text: Eccl. 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23 Luke 12:13-21 Introduction I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a sermon preached on Ecclesiastes before. Sometimes at funerals or weddings or other such occasions we hear the list from chapter 3 about how everything has its season – ‘a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up…’ – but we don’t hear much…
Flood, Grace, and the Winding Road to the Cross July 8th, 2007 Kevin Derksen Text: Genesis 9:8-17 God at the Crossroads When I started to think about the image of the crossroads as a summer theme, I imagined us, as God’s people, walking down the road of our lives, and coming to the inevitable intersections that open to us the uncertain possibilities of the unknown. I imagined God looking down benevolently from some vague ‘up there’ –…
The Unsettling Interim June 24th, 2007 Kevin Derksen Text: John 14:25-31 Romans 8:18-25 I was going to begin this morning by saying that June 24, 2007 is a day that will survive in TUMC consciousness only as ‘the Sunday after Gary and Lydia’s retirement weekend’. But I have a feeling that Ginny Lepp’s wonderful Kingdom Report just now is going to make that statement untrue. Thank you Ginny for reminding us that life goes on even without…
God’s Gifts have Overflowed June 10th, 2007 Gary Harder Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Ephesians 3:14-20 Introduction This is a very rich and full and wonderful Sunday morning. I celebrate the fact that God continues to call people into pastoral leadership. Witness the “licensing toward ordination” service this morning for Jonathan and Maureen. I celebrate the fact that God continues to invite people into the fellowship of God’s church – witness the membership service this morning for Ernie and…
The “Womb-ish” God May 13th, 2007 Gary Harder Text: Psalm 36:7-9 Psalm 57:1-3 Deut. 32:10-13 Introduction I was just a bit discombobulated. There I was, some years ago now, one of only two men amidst 200 women at a theology conference held at at Conrad Grebel University College. “Women doing theology” they named it, so it was perhaps not surprising that not many men applied. Except that the brochure stated specifically that they wanted men to attend in…
Conflict & Unity: Holding Vision and Reality Together May 6th, 2007 Gary Harder Text: Acts 11:1-8 John 13:33-35 Introduction As is often the case, the lectionary readings for today took me where I was a bit reluctant to go. Our Scripture texts today focus on two words – conflict and unity. To preach about unity seems appropriate just before I retire, but do I really want to talk about conflict? We live with many unresolved tensions inside of…
Safe in the Hands of the Shepherd April 29th, 2007 Jonathan Slater Text: Psalm 23 John 10:22-30 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23 is, I think, one of the best known and most beloved of the Psalms. It is among my earliest memories related to church. It has been a companion for me on…