Psalm 126

In the season of Advent, I will be preaching a series of sermons on, “All I Want for Christmas.”

The title of the first sermon is “Plimpton’s Surprise.” The theme is “joy.”

I look forward to seeing you at worship on Sunday..

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Isaiah 30:18-26.

On November 26th the Twentieth-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, my sermon title will be How Does Heinz Sell Any Ketchup?

The theme is anticipation, and the sermon is about anticipating the coming Advent and Christmas Season.

I look forward to seeing you at worship on Sunday..

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Isaiah 1:18-20.

This Sunday’s sermon title will be The Pig With the Peg Leg.

Basically, the sermon will address Thanksgiving.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the late, Rev. Fenton Warren for the opening illustration. The scripture is Isaiah 1:18-20, although other scriptures will be cited in the sermon.

I look forward to seeing you at worship on Sunday.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

I recently had an arteriogram to determine if I had a problem with my heart. As it turns out, my heart is in very good shape. The problem was likely caused by a certain medication that can easily be changed. However, all of this made me think of something else.

What I experienced would have been unthinkable about 100 years ago. To think: having a thin tube inserted in veins (instead of arteries) in two different places on my body and looking inside the vessels around my heart! Further, if needed, my cardiologist could have inserted little sleeves (stents) and expanded them to push back the plaque in the vessels. It almost sounds miraculous.

The thought of such “miracles” are almost taken for granted today. However, if we think about it, each advance in medicine can be perceived as gifts from God. At least, that’s the way I think of these discoveries. One might ask, “Well, why didn’t we think of them before?” I can only guess, but it seemed to me that we could not imagine how to do such things until we came up with the materials to accomplish such procedures. That may be naive, but I have to remember that God’s sense of timing isn’t always easily understood. Instead, I’m simply happy that we eventually reached the place where we made the discovery.

Now, if only we could discover God’s plan for peace….!

Pastor Michael

Nehemiah 4:10-14

The theme of this Sunday’s sermon is determination, dependability, and devotion, using Nehemiah as an example.

I look forward to seeing you at worship on Sunday—and possibly at Charge Conference (Wednesday, Nov 8).

I also want you to know that next Wednesday, November 15, will be the last Bible Study for the year because of hectic schedules and plans during the holiday season. After a brief time away to allow for bad weather, we will resume Bible Study on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Romans 1:16-17.

The theme of the sermon is the dilemma The Church began to face at the conclusion of World War II. By April 1945, over 20 million people had been killed as a result of totalitarian governments trying to irradicate citizens they felt were not valid human beings. That is when people began to question if there was any real meaning to life. This gave rise to skepticism and atheism in larger-than-ever numbers.

Any philosophical terms and concepts used in the sermon will be expressed in everyday language. I won’t make it a lecture about philosophy. (The last 4 years I taught in college; I taught Introduction to Western Philosophy.)

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday! Thank you, each one of you, for your loyalty and work to make worship as meaningful as possible.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Hebrews 12:1-3.

I have decided to focus on All Saints this coming Sunday. All Saints Day is November 1; and I had rather celebrate it before on Oct 29 instead of after on November 4.

All Saints Day has been observed in honor of all of the saints (believers) who have gone on to Eternity and has been celebrated since the 4th Century A.D. (300’s A.D.). Contemporary culture is more connected to All Hallow’s Eve (now called, “Halloween”), an observance from ancient times when people believed demons and evil spirits roamed the earth on the evening before All Saints Day. In order to protect themselves from the evil spirits, people dressed as evil beings to hide from the evil spirits: thus, the current observance.

The scripture is Hebrews 12:1-3, a very familiar scripture employed for centuries in observing All Saints Day.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Philippians 4:4-9

On October 22nd the Twentieth-first Sunday after Pentecost, the sermon title will be “Nightmare on Main Street”. The scripture is Philippians 4:4-9.

The sermon is about the amount of gore and violence depicted in much of our entertainment and how it seems to be a heavy influence on our culture.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Matthew 19:16-22

This Sunday the sermon title will be Living With an Open Hand. The scripture is Matthew 19:16-22.

The theme of the sermon is the fear that if we open our hand to others, we might lose it all. In fact, the opposite is true.

Looking forward to seeing all of you this Sunday.

Blessings,

Pastor Michael

Recently, Anne and I attended a concert by Chicago at the FirstBank Amphitheater. Chicago was founded as a musical group 56 years ago; so, a lot of people there were my age, or a little younger. And yet, there were quite a number of younger people. I was struck by several things after leaving the venue; and I could not help but put my thoughts in a church-related framework.

The first thing I thought about was the most obvious: the event was an explosion of sound and sights. We were treated to outstanding music, much of which were older hits by this energetic band. (In fact, three of the group were original members of Chicago!) Sitting and standing all around us were people singing along, moving in rhythmic jerks and twists, smiling, laughing, and shouting to one another over the huge array of speakers. (We were near the front and were seated under a stack of 14 speakers suspended directly over us.) I imagined that this was similar to a religious experience for many in attendance. I can surely attest to the feelings that welled up in my chest.

Second, I was amazed at how many people attended the event even though it took some effort to get there; and it was expensive. The tickets were expensive, the parking privilege we had was an additional cost; and the food was good, but overpriced. (The venue will not allow attendees to bring in anything but a clear, EMPTY bottle.) While a few were tailgating, most ate and drank inside the venue. The difficulty of getting to our seats was considerable. First, there was a long drive, even after we got off of 840. My traffic app took us a less travelled way, so the trip in and out was not the most challenging thing about attending. (It would have been for the majority who did regular parking, and were in a huge backup when leaving.) The real difficulty was the long walk, uphill, from the parking area. Then, once at the top of the former quarry, we still had to walk a long way to our seats. Added to the difficulty was the long walk to the restrooms. (I don’t know why they weren’t any busier than they were, because people were drinking a lot—a lot.)

First there was the fact that the event was something akin to a religious experience. Second there were the difficulties in attending, plus the expense of the evening. (I’m not going to add up everything just because I don’t want to know how much the evening cost me.) Now, the third thing I want to say is that the evening was totally voluntary. Except for the performers and the staff, not a one of us was required to be there. Nor was the event life saving or of ultimate importance. We went out of disregard for the expense and difficulty And for what? We all wanted to be totally immerse in an experience that carried us out of the ordinary and into another realm of existence—albeit temporary.

Now, here’s where I’m going. Our participation in being a church is something we’d like to give us an overwhelming and life changing experience, but at much less the cost and difficulty in attending. We, too, are here on a voluntary basis. Even I am here voluntarily since I am officially a retired Elder in the United Methodist Church. I could have turned down the District Superintendent, without any negative recourse. And yet, I choose to be here. I choose to write a check each month, and I choose to drive about 30 minutes each way when I come to the church, not to mention the driving for visits, programs, meetings, etc. But, instead of what we do here being only a temporary reprieve from daily struggles, trials, and challenges, we participate in a permanent, life changing environment that no other human institution can promise or give.

I enjoyed the concert; and I looked forward to it. But now that it is over, I am simply back at the daily task of living. And yet, I’ll be back in worship each week, because I want to; because my life and soul need it; and because I want to the Kingdom to be the biggest and most lasting and life changing experience for as many people as possible.

Michael O’Bannon, Pastor