Genesis 15:1-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1 and Luke. 13:31-35

Interestingly enough, this Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Tradition has us wearing green and thinking about the Saint running the snakes out of Ireland. But our Luke text has more to do with a fox, a hen and Jesus almost “seeing red” in anger over Herod and Jerusalem’s treatment of prophets. Where power accumulates, such as in cities, God sends prophets and finally a Savior to address the issues of misuse of power. God’s promise to “deal with” that which opposes Gods rule or reign over all things goes back to even the Genesis text where God promises Abraham there is a future of descendants for him even though he is childless at an old age.

In a Fallen world God has to be about making good on the “bad” and on our misuse of freedom and power. God allows bad things to happen to people but provides a way of healing, recovery, and new hope.

Yes, St. Patrick had a rough start being kidnapped out of Britain into slavery in Ireland but after escaping he returns to Ireland years later as a missionary making good out of a bad beginning.

Our hope is that God is always about a better future when the present and past make us doubt and lose hope. Abraham, Paul, and Jesus are all recipients of God’s promises. We here today are also claimed by the God who goes about making promises to make “all things new.”

Be blessed whether an Irish Blessing or some other blessing!

Pastor Barry

Psalm 91:9-16, Romans 10:8b-13 and Luke 4:1-13.

Jesus being tempted in the wilderness is a familiar Bible story. Our Lord seems very human, like us, if he was susceptible to reach for power over things and conditions of the earth! Who wouldn’t like the power to be protected from harm and the power to always have what you need?! And in such a distracted state of mind and body: hungry, alone, and pondering “what next!”. But Jesus was single minded in that he was in the wilderness to worship God alone.

Worship is the thing that mattered most. Devotion to the Source of all that exists! All else would then follow from that devotion. And Jesus was so “close” to God that it was clear the Devil knew Jesus had access to all power to meet his needs and to command the universe to obey Him.

In our wilderness times we do have needs but don’t always have the power to meet or overcome the needs. What do we do and to what do we aspire to use to get what we need? Is true worship and devotion all we ultimately need?

We will look in a bit closer to Jesus in the wilderness and to Paul who declares what we really need on this first Sunday in Lent, that Forty Days leading to Easter the fulfillment of all God’s intentions for us! “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” Romans 8:13.

Be there! Don’t be “tempted” to stay away!

Blessings for the Lenten journey!

Pastor Barry

Exodus 34:29-35, II Corinthians 3:12-4:1 and Luke 9:28-43

The last few days have been like someone opened the curtains in a dimly lit room! The sun was still really there behind all the rain clouds of February. Light, warmth, welcome anticipation of change burst forth and cheered many.

Our bible passages this Sunday are all about the “glow,” the shining of God’s radiance. And especially through the messengers of Moses, Paul, and supremely Jesus. The Transfiguration is all about the glory of God present in Jesus on high but also how that glory is to show through bodily healing and through the work of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.

The idea of shedding light on any subject is to make the subject more well known, to provide a better awareness of what can happen as the depth and width of the subject is seen in the greater light of God.

Whether it is seeing persons better as reflecting the image of God or whether it has to do with decision making as at the recent General Conference 2019, “seeing the glory of God” is something we are called to do.

And in seeing in a better Light we hope to “do no harm and stay in love with God.” Disciples come “off the high” of the mountain top experience and walk amongst those who need healing and transformation.

We see and go forth~~~!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 45:3-15, Psalm 37:1-11 and Luke 6:27-38

To vary the Rodney Dangerfield joke about “I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out,” let’s say you went to a Peace and Forgiveness Rally and a war broke out is sadly not far from truth. The war to end all wars, World War I, and all the efforts for world peace in the Twenties led to World War II in the Forties. The victory over totalitarian forces in 1945 led to the Cold War and The Atomic Age anxiety and dread.

So, when we read of the forgiveness of Joseph toward his brothers and then the teachings of Jesus about turning the other cheek, we struggle to believe forgiveness, non-resistance, and the Golden Rule actually are possible in a world of brutal power and force. Perhaps it MIGHT work on the individual level but rarely on a societal level. “People will just run over you” is a recurring thought in a world embedded in Sin. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely! But, Joseph and Jesus set the example and lived out such remarkable lives that we find it hard not to believe such a way is possible. A different power is at work in Joseph, Jesus, and the God of the Psalmist.

Such a tension will probably never leave us, those who walk by faith and not just what we see time and time again in a rough world. And in every life such loving actions CAN happen in spite of our doubts and despair. The church bears witness to the possibility. We strive, and we strive not alone but together to follow the Lord the one who went to the Cross instead of calling down ten thousand angels to His rescue, to smite His persecutors.

It’s a message and hope we will explore in worship this coming Sunday in a century that still finds wars and rumors of war, people hurting people, and struggles at every turn. But living and walking in faith does “lean toward” the hoped for Peaceable Kingdom!

Be blessed in hearing the Word this Sunday!

Pastor Barry

Jeremiah 17:5-10, I Corinthians 15:12-20 and Luke 6:17-26

Jesus’ audience receiving a message which included woes and blessings, was, first, his disciples and then, “a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon…” Blessings and woes were announced to a wide range of people….not just his “early church” the disciples.

I cannot but think of the “great multitudes” of the USA on this Sunday before Presidents Day. If anyone commands attention and has a huge audience today it is whoever is in the highest office in the land. And almost to a person our Presidents have been of some Christian Faith themselves. Presidents are not “preacher in chief” but are influenced by the Word of God, a nation of churches and preachers.

What might any President in our history have heard when Jesus speaks of the “rich, the poor, those who mourn, and those who are praised by all.” Presidents have all had to deal with these categories of our population in leadership, by example and by policies. Is there an overlap between “church and society” when it comes to policies on the rich, the poor, those who mourn, those who get praised by all?!

Jesus sounds much like the prophets, in this case, like Jeremiah who generations before found reasons to pronounce both blessings and curses. God’s word is for both individuals and for nations, people in lands such as Judah with its kings and intrigues with surrounding nations. Jeremiah in 17:1 speaks to Judah, the people collectively!

This Sunday as we anticipate honoring our Presidential branch of government we might ask ourselves how we as a nation hear the Word of God with blessings and woes pronounced upon individuals and the nation? Certainly a very big question! The answers will take time to sink in and affect us as followers of Christ.

Let us worship the Lord who questions us and our attitudes toward others, but is ever intent on leading us toward blessings!

Pastor Barry

Isaiah 6:1-8, I Corinthians 15:1-11 and Luke 5:1-11

We talk about determination. Such as an incredible quarterback like Tom Brady. A courageous woman like Rosa Parks in the segregated South of the Sixties. Max Cleland a triple amputee decorated veteran being elected to Congress. Determination.

In our scriptures we actually discover three who, in spite of their failures and self-condemnation, come up against a God who is determined to call them out and away from their guilt and low self-esteem and “employ” them for the work of the Kingdom! God’s determination sinks in to them and we get a prophet and two apostles!

God is determined to bring the best out of our worst. Yes, we are told to confess our sins but the next step is to not stay “stuck” in our confession but rather move forward in our “profession.” Profession in the two senses of “I profess Jesus Christ” but also the sense of A profession e.g. a calling, a call to personal mission and service. “Here I am Lord….send me!”

Sunday we will look in the mirror. Let’s pray we see both our worst selves and the self that God sees as a beloved friend ready to participate in God’s work here and now and bound in heaven for all eternity. “Well done thou good and faithful servant!”

Come out of any self-imposed negative view of yourself and view how God sees you! Sanctification as a happy, giving life shared together in worship, witness, and specific works YOU are called to! Eyes and ears and hearts open to God’s call and guidance!

Pastor Barry

Ecclesiastes 8:15; 9:7-10, I Corinthians 10:23-30 and Matthew 22:34-40.

One gathers to worship on Sunday. Yet, one knows that the other hours of the day offer a thousand other activities, routines, habits, works, leisure’s, and cultural diversities. Yes, we are in the world!

No generation of Christians goes without the need to consider their life as lived out in the culture of the day. Some remove themselves as much as possible e.g., Amish, questionable sects, while most live and move within the culture of entertainment, Super bowls, parties, diverse opinions and preferences for going about the day and week.

Jesus says “love God, neighbor and yourself.” Paul says, you have freedom, “but not all things are helpful, not all things are beneficial.”
From Ecclesiastes, in spite of all the writer’s concern for the passing away of all things, we are advised to “eat, drink, and be joyful.”

This Sunday’s hour of worship will hear these voices from the Scriptures and then celebrate together at The Table of the Lord. And in our culture many will then attend to the “Groundhog and weather, to the grand finale of football season, and ponder the meaning of what around us gives us joy and delight, peace and salvation.”

“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head!” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).

Pastor Barry

Nehemiah 8:1-10, I Corinthians 12:12-31 and Luke 4:14-30

Preaching is, of course, a form of public speaking. Reading and quoting scripture usually accompanies a sermon. And you can find a WIDE range of responses to any public proclamation!

One response is falling asleep and the old joke goes: Preacher: “Deacon Jones! Wake up brother Bob! He’s fallen asleep during this sermon! Deacon Jones: “You wake him up. You put him to sleep!”

In the Nehemiah passage, the reading of God’s law causes people to weep but then they are instructed to not weep, but to have “joy.” They are told to go eat and enjoy the time spent hearing God’s word.

And when Jesus reads the text in Isaiah the people have a wide range of emotions about the passage and who is doing the reading. This is in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown….and it doesn’t end well!

This Sunday in worship we will hope for responses “deep and wide “within us that carry over the rest of the week in our life together in community, at work, and in recreation and rest.

As Nehemiah 8:10 encourages, “Do not grieve (upon hearing the Word), for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” And for good measure also, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks.” Legends or O Charley’s!??

Be blessed in worship this Sunday!

Pastor Barry

Isaiah 62:1-5, I Corinthians 12:1-13 and John 2:1-11

Isaiah 62 and John 2 highlight the celebrations of marriage, of weddings, of the joy of committed relationships. I Corinthians 12 celebrates the gifts given to the Bridegroom the Church for the mutual benefit of all. And in verse 13, after the gifts are celebrated we are reminded we all “drink of one spirit.”

Yes, what do we drink at weddings and birthdays, celebrations of success, of graduation, of anniversaries and births, of grand moments along life’s way?! Behind the food and drink and party is the life giving drink of the Spirit….even if we are slow to name it, recognize it, believe it.

Jesus attends a wedding, keeps in the background as one of many guests, but helps out at just the right moment! Does that sound familiar to you? And the Church, the Body of Christ, is it not THERE with its many gifts to help you along the way to the final Heavenly Wedding Feast?!

Our texts tell of the Great Expectation of God’s Work, the Jesus Work, and the Church Work. Strange isn’t it that at its best, Christian life in community doesn’t feel like “work,” but like a Wedding Party with plenty of Spirit to drink!

At its best……..

Pastor Barry

Isaiah 43:1-7, Acts 8:9-25 and Luke 3:15-22

This time of the year the preaching and worship jump quickly from the manger to the adult Jesus! The scriptures tell us very little about the childhood and adolescence of our Lord. The emphasis is on his Ministry, Death, and Resurrection and rightly so! His childhood and youth were, what shall we say, pretty normal for a boy in the first century Palestine!

Luke 3 and Acts 8 record the drama surrounding the whole notion of Baptism for Jesus and for His followers. In worship, as we read and listen this Sunday about Baptism, we will be encouraged to “remember and think about our own Baptism.” That and the Lords Supper are the two primary Sacraments we observe as Protestants and United Methodists. Most all Christians observe these two significant “moments” in some form or fashion.

The two scripture passages in our readings today also emphasize how baptisms often led to conflicts! Not surprisingly Herod did not take kindly to all the stir John the Baptizer was creating and in Acts, the Apostles had such power at work in them that a Magician Simon wanted some of that power for his own selfish gain!

This Sunday, we will have a meaningful and personal look at one of the central practices of our life together in the Church! Be prepared….stay alert…..be grateful for the work of the Lord in your life today!

Blessings~~~ †

Pastor Barry