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United Church of Paducah
4600 Buckner Lane
Paducah, KY 42001
(270) 442-3722
Worship Times
Sunday Service: 10:00a
Refreshments &
Fellowship: 11:15a
Christian Education
For All Ages:
11:20a - Noon
Nursery Services Provided Handicap Accessible
All Are Welcome!
A Congregation Of The
"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." - Gracie
Allen
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From December 30, 2007
Herod Who?
Matthew 2: 13-23
Christmas Eve seems so long ago already. The
low light of the sanctuary, our breathless waiting, and then
at last the gentle peace of Christ's birth. Don't you wish
those feelings could remain forever? That what we received
that night could flow from us into others' lives? Each one
sharing what was given, so that Christ's peace spread out to
blanket the whole earth.
No matter how much we might wish otherwise, we cannot will
holy moments to stay. We cannot force feelings to endure.
Everything changes. And often so quickly. Even our
scriptures today make this point.
In very short order we have gone from the sacred to the
profane, from the peak of quiet holiness to the depths of
human depravity. The Christ Child comes to us and before we
know it, a king's fury forces Jesus' family to flee into the
safety of Egypt. All because of Herod. All because of a
fearful ruler who calls for violence because a baby
threatens his political power.
More... From December
24, 2007
Christmas Message
On this holy night, Isaiah, prophet of old,
speaks of the one to come, the child who will be given so
that God's promises might at last be fulfilled, so that
God's shalom--God's peace--might finally become the human
family's enduring reality.
On this holy night, Matthew and Luke once more tell a story
in which impossible things happen to improbable people in
unlikely places in the darkest of times. All by God's
design. And all for you and me.
If we don't quite know these scriptures by heart, we
certainly recognize their cadence and content. It would not
be Christmas without Isaiah and Matthew and Luke. It would
not be Christmas without the peaceable kingdom, without
shepherds looking up and angels coming down. It would not be
Christmas without the lowing of cattle and a baby's soft
cry.
This is why we sing. And so fully. It would not be Christmas
if all we did was listen. Tonight we rise up, singing carols
we've been aching all month for, ones that give voice to our
wonder, our joy, and our gratitude for this Christmas
miracle.
More... From December 16, 2007
Without Question
Isaiah 35: 1-10; Luke 1: 46- 55
John Miller was the last kid anyone wanted
to play with. He was a poor loser. No, that's not quite
right. John wasn't a poor loser; he simply refused to lose.
Whenever John thought there was even a slim possibility he
might not win, he would change the rules.
"Everyone knows you get to draw two cards, not one, if your
name starts with the letter 'J,'" he would insist. "That
toss of the dice didn't count because they touched when they
landed," John would argue. "I get to roll again." John would
do just about anything to get himself back in the lead.
Don't think we were stupid. We knew the rules. But John was
bigger than everyone else, stronger and meaner, too. If John
didn't get his way, you could be certain there would be hell
to pay.
I feel fortunate that this experience remains confined to
childhood. Some are not so lucky. A couple years ago I met a
woman whose boss had a tendency to do what John did.
Somewhere between the work assignment and the following
through, the boss would rather capriciously change her mind.
More... From December 9, 2007
Sprouts and Shouts
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3: 1-12
In just a few short weeks, we will come in
from the cold to celebrate Christ's birth. By candles' glow,
we will retrace the story of God's promise of a savior.
Something happens in that sacred hour that defies
description, doesn't it? Whatever had hold of us earlier in
the month, earlier in the day even, whatever that was will
fall away in the dim light and in its place a gift will be
given.
Something will find its way to us so gradually that we may
not know it has entered our lives until the last. "Silent
night, holy night" we will sing as we receive--then
share--Christ's light. As the light from our candles grows
to fill the darkness, we will sense the night's gift and
know it is ours.
The moment will come to snuff out our candles and bundle
back up again. And yet the gift will remain. We'll step back
out into the cold night and there it will be, waiting for
us, beckoning us: peace. Christ's deep peace. A peace that
will enfold us and hold us and enable us, if but for a
moment or two, to experience the world as Eden, as God
created it, as God wills it, the world into which we are
invited once more. "All is calm, all is bright."
More... From December 2, 2007
Worth The Wait
Isaiah 2: 1-5; Matthew 24: 36-44
Before I begin, I'm going to ask you
children to stick your fingers in your ears. Your parents
will nudge you when it's time to listen again.
OK grownups, here's what I don't want our kids to know: I
used to be a master Christmas present peeker. I started
young--six, maybe seven. And I kept at it until I was a
senior in high school.
It began innocently enough, the peeking did. I'd stretch out
under the Christmas tree and when no one was looking I would
use my fingernail to see if the tape on a package didn't
need a bit of, um, liberation. Usually it did and that's
when I would carefully unfold the wrapping to read the
printing on the box inside.
A real package peeking prodigy, I was. But somewhere along
the line, I discovered an even better approach--finding the
gifts before they had been wrapped. It was easy at first.
Mom regularly hid presents under her bed or on the top shelf
in her closet. When my mother caught on to my tricks, I had
to get smart. That's when I thought to check the trunk of
the car after everyone had turned in. Bingo! Mom upped the
ante the next year by ever so carefully placing our gifts in
black lawn bags and lowering them into the crawl space under
the house. It was so dark down there I almost didn't see
them. Almost.
More... From November 11, 2007
Seeing And Being Seen
Luke 19:1-10
Earlier this week I was out and about and
caught someone looking at me.
"Howya doin'?" Said the man with a big grin.
"Great. Do I know you?"
"Aren't you so and so?" He asked, his smile fading.
"No, but I can see why you would confuse us. We do sorta
look alike."
The man was embarrassed, of course. So I reassured him,
several times, and went on with my day.
But the mix-up got me thinking about a comment a college
professor once made. We were talking about identity
formation, how as children we come to know who we are. Dr.
Fischer said that one of the surest ways to cause a
preschooler profound distress (not that you'd want to) is to
consistently call them by the wrong name. Even at a young
age, we know who we arewhich means we also know who we
aren't.
More... From November 4, 2007
Never Separate
Romans 8: 28, 31-39; John 20:
11-18
Most of the time I forgive my mistakes but
the one I made in Albuquerque still bothers me. I was a
student, learning the ins and outs of hospital ministry, and
one night it fell to me to be the on-call chaplain. My pager
went off in the wee hours of the morning, summoning me to
the cardiology floor for a code blue; a woman's heart had
stopped and responders were trying to revive her.
I waited in the hall for her family. They arrived breathless
and I knew their questions even before they asked. What
happened? Would she be OK? When could they see her?
Problem was, they spoke Spanish and no interpreters were on
duty. My heart ached for them and so I used my very limited
Spanish to respond. But then they wanted medical updates,
and even though I knew better, I tried to give them.
More... From October 28, 2007
In On The Secret
2 Corinthians 9: 6-15
Two things happened yesterday that may not,
at first blush anyway, seem to have much in common.
First, the Greater Paducah Sustainability project held its
monthly recycling day at the Park Avenue Kroger. As many as
30 volunteers were on hand to greet recyclers and sort their
varied donations.
Some recyclers came with a little. Some came with a lot. It
didn't matter. What mattered was this: as much as two tons
of recyclables were kept out of the city's landfill.
Now, add yesterday's success to the previous months'
successes, add to that the many successes yet to come and do
you have? A compelling case for curbside recycling in
Paducah. An eventuality, even.
More... From October 21, 2007
The Small Sacrifice
Mark 12: 38-44
In the small city of Bountiful, Utah, where
I lived and pastored for four-plus years, the term "upward
mobility" was more than a phrase. You could see it whenever
you stepped outside.
With the Great Salt Lake on one side and the Wasatch
Mountains on the other, there was only one direction for the
city to grow as it prospered--up the mountainside. Because
of this, elevation was as fair an indicator of wealth as a
pay stub or bank account. The higher up on the slope a
person lived, the higher his or her net worth.
Which made for an interesting dynamic around town. Except
for those who lived at the tippy-top of the mountain, people
tended to think of themselves as not all that well off. Why?
Because every time someone went out to the mailbox or drove
home from the grocery store, there stood the mountainside,
dotted with homes whose higher elevation typically meant
higher price tags and higher per capita incomes.
More... From October 14, 2007
The Secret's Out
Psalm 111
A few years ago, there was a short-lived
television show called Hot or Not. Taped in front of
a live audience, each contestant came out onto the stage for
the sole purpose of being scrutinized by three judges there
to determine who was hot and who was not.
This alone made for questionable programming, but what made
the show even more questionable was the actions of judge
Lorenzo Lamas (son of actor Fernando Lamas). He appalled
viewers by training a laser light on each contestant's
miniscule flaws: a tiny patch of cellulite on this one, a
mole in the wrong place on that one.
Lamas' little laser was clearly "not hot" and neither was
the show; it tanked not long after it debuted. Still it
lingers in my memory because it put a spotlight on how
demanding of perfection our culture can be.
We study our grocery store apples for tiny imperfections,
something that confounds organic farmers struggling to
compete with industrial farmers.
More... From September 23, 2007
Prayer Partners
I Timothy 2: 1-7
"First of all, then, I urge that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be
made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high
positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and dignity." (I Tim 2: 1-2)
Prayer is such a personal thing; indeed, it can be the most
intimate part of our lives.
Yet as highly personal as our prayer practices are, today's
lesson reminds us that our prayers must never be strictly
personal; they are to reach beyond the particular to embrace
the whole human family. Everyone, says the author of I
Timothy today. Pray for everyone.
More... From September 16, 2007
God's High Priority
Luke 15: 1-7
Before we think together about today's
well-known parable, I'd like to invite you to do something.
Take a look around the sanctuary. Stand up, if you'd like.
Step out into the aisles, even. Look around and take a good
look at who's here.
And now notice who's not. Who's not here today? OK, now you
can take your seat!
A short drive from Paducah, on a bluff overlooking the Ohio
River is San Damiano Retreat Center. Besides its commanding
view of the river and the surrounding countryside, what
impresses visitors is the 38 foot statue of Jesus the Good
Shepherd whose great arms are cradling a little lamb.
More... From September 2, 2007
Tuning into Jesus' Food Network
Luke 14:1, 7-14
We all have favorite TV shows. One of mine
is the Food Network's Iron Chef America. A spin off of a
wildly successful Japanese program, Iron Chef America is an
hour-long culinary battle set in Kitchen Stadium. Each week,
world-class chefs try to outdo one of the Food Network's
four masterful Iron Chefs.
What makes this head-to-head competition especially
challenging is that each chef is judged on five different
dishes, all of which highlight a secret ingredient revealed
at the beginning of the hour. One week the secret ingredient
might be the lowly onion, another week it's wild boar. The
secret ingredient has been just about anything you could
imagine: tofu or salmon or fennel or pumpkin.
My favorite part of Iron Chef America is judging at the end.
Each chef presents his five culinary creations, so in the
end viewers will have seen a total of ten different ways to
feature the secret ingredient. I am in awe every time. Who
would ever guess that one single item could give rise to so
many expressions of deliciousness?
More... From August 26, 2007
Just Asking
Psalm 15; Luke 9: 18-20
A marvelous little book entitled
Children's Letters to God gives us a way to listen in as
youngsters quiz God about all sorts of mysteries. Here are
some of my favorites:
Dear God, one child writes, in Sunday School they told us
what you do.
Who does it when you are on vacation?
How did you know you were God?
Dear God, I read the Bible. What does begat mean? Nobody
will tell me.
Dear God, on Halloween I am going to wear a devil's costume.
Is that all right with you?
Dear God, are you really invisible or is that just a trick?
More... From August 12, 2007
Dressed For Action
Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16; Luke 12: 32-40
It's not always easy setting out for a place
we've never been. Thank heavens you and I can count on the
help that comes from friends, websites, and maps. But
sometimes, sometimes we have to gather ourselves up and just
go, just like Abraham and Sarah did.
God called them out, tradition tells us, said they were
going to be pioneers in the faith. Said they were going to a
foreign land, one God was giving as an inheritance. Said
their days without children were numbered, and one day, one
day, their offspring would be as numerous as stars.
God said "head'em up, move'em out." But God didn't give clue
one about what to take. Acting on faith, taking God at God's
word, all Abraham and Sarah could do was make their best
guesses; so they packed up their tents and a few clothes,
deciding to let God handle the rest. (The handling the rest
part, our tradition calls that faith.)
More...
From August 5, 2007
Bigger and Bigger
Luke 12: 13-21
A wealthy farmer's harvest is unbelievably
bountiful. Since money is no object, he tears down the barns
that were more than adequate last year and erects new ones
big enough to contain his unexpected abundance.
With his grain now safely stored away and his future more
than secure, the man kicks back by the pool, sips a mai tai,
and savors his new-found liberation. He's set for life.
Or so he thinks...
More...
From July 22, 2007
Choosing The Better Part
Luke 10: 38-42
Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha. Even folks
who don't go to church know about these two sisters and how
one wanted Jesus to get the other one up off the floor and
back to work.
Our story today is about roles and responsibilities,
expectations and exhaustion, discipleship and duty. Dig
deeper, though, and you will see that this isn't just a
story about two very different women with two very different
ways of being in the world. It's also a real-life parable
about the two halves of the human person: the make-it-happen
active self and the let-it-be receptive self. The achiever
and the receiver, if you will.
In the life of faith, both are needed. Even the Trappist
Monks at Gethsemani Abbey near Bardstown know this. They
live in silence, ordering their days around worship, keeping
company with God, and yet they also have work for which they
are each held responsible. Things like chopping onions or
managing the Abbey's website. Work which is, one would hope,
informed and nourished by their silent communion. Work in
which they find God and themselves.
More...
From July 8, 2007
Great Expectations
2 Kings 5: 1-14
Are you, right now, where you thought you
would be fifteen years ago? Are you living the life you
imagined then? I don't know about you but standing in a
pulpit in Paducah, Kentucky, on a summer morning qualifies
as something I never envisioned for myself!
It's in our nature to look ahead, to catch glimpses of the
future. As our Basement Youth Group prepared to leave this
week-end, I have to think that teens and chaperones alike
were making movies in their heads about their trip and their
time together.
As far as we know, we're the only creatures on earth with
the ability to envision the future and strive to make that
vision a reality. It's a powerful asset, one that has
enabled us to leave our caves behind and reap the many
benefits of progress.
More...
From July 1, 2007
Called To Freedom
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of
slavery.
What yoke enslaves you? That's a mighty potent question for
a rainy Sunday morning, isn't it? Said another way, what has
a grip on you? What is holding you hostage? What's keeping
you from being free?
The apostle Paul had an idea, a few actually, behaviors and
mindsets he called "works of the flesh." Some announce themselves
- drunkenness and quarrelling, for instance. But
some are yokes a person can bear in secret.
What yoke enslaves you?
More...
From June 24, 2007
Let It Shine
Galatians 3: 23-29
I sure wish I could be a fly on the wall
today. One with miracle powers that would enable me to in
nearly six thousand places at once.
Why? The United Church of Christ is 50 years old today and
oh how I would love to catch sight of every single party. I
wish I could be at all of them. The ones happening in tiny
rural fellowships and big city congregations. In faith
communities that sprang up before the American Revolution
and ones who count their own birthdays on one hand.
From one end of the country to the another, in worshipping
communities of every size and age, the party's on. Right
now. This very minute. And not just in our churches either.
In Hartford, Connecticut, this morning the Civic Center is a
heavenly, happenin' place. Thousands upon thousands of
delegates and their friends are singing and swaying and
stomping their feet in a service so colorful and jubilant
that you just have to know folks will be talking about it
for years. All the way to our next big birthday and beyond,
I'll betcha.
More...
From June 17, 2007
The Only Law You Will Ever Need
Galatians 2: 15-21
I got a telephone call once from a new
father who, after quickly introducing himself, explained why
he was calling. "I'd like to have my baby daughter
baptized." Soon, he shouted silently.
This was the first time I'd ever gotten a call out of the
blue like this and I told him so. Ordinarily, parents do
what Rick and Angela have done. They choose to have their
child baptized once they have found a spiritual home.
I wasn't sure exactly what Daddy had in mind. Just drop in
some Sunday, have his daughter sprinkled and prayed over,
and then be done with us? Congregations don't witness
baptisms, after all; they participate in them.
More...
From June 3, 2007
Crowned
Psalm 8
Ellen Ekevag pastors part-time at Grace
Episcopal and is married to a Swede. In Sweden, Ellen
confessed recently, everyone knows about trolls. Not from
books or folk tales either; trolls live in the nearby
forest. If you happen to go hiking there or come back from a
picnic, expect to be asked whether you saw one. Expect to be
believed when you answer in the affirmative.
The same is true in Ireland with leprechauns. Go to the pub
and report that you've seen a little man in a green suit and
no one will question your sanity. In fact, they'll cheer and
raise a pint in celebration.
It's great when folks believe you, applaud you even. But
what if your neighbor called and said she had just seen a
tree full of angels? Have you ever seen a tree full of
angels? Probably not. Which might explain any reluctance to
take your neighbor at her word.
More...
From May 20, 2007
Eavesdropping on Jesus
John 17: 20-26
Neal needed work and badly. A shy guy, I
suggested Neal speak to a colleague. Something went right; a
week later, Neal had work in the mailroom, our building's
conversational crossroads. Stopping by that office was an
important part of many people's day, including mine.
Not long after Neal started, I asked how things were going.
My friend of few words couldn't stop talking and I couldn't
believe my ears.
Did I know about Lydia and her husband, Neal asked as he
shook his head in disbelief. And had I heard the heated
exchange in the hallway last week between the department
head and his underling?
More...
From May 6, 2007
Even Them
Acts 11: 1-18
Some of you know that I served a church in
Utah. I learned something there that I now pass along to
you. Latter Day Saints have a name for someone who is not a
Mormon: Gentile. Only in Utah is it possible for a Jew to be
a Gentile!
As a Gentile living in Mormon Zion, I assure you my
experience was nothing like it was in Peter's day. Back then
to be a Gentile was a bad, bad thing. At least as far as the
Jews were concerned. Gentiles were pagans. They were dirty,
filthy followers of lesser gods.
They weren't just icky, Gentiles; they were also dangerous
to be around. Associating with a Gentile placed an observant
Jew in religious jeopardy because that contact rendered him
or her ritually impure. A big, big no-no.
Before we look at Peter's vision and what it says to us,
let's revisit the matter of religious purity, a subject
essential to our understanding of today's scripture.
More...
From April 29, 2007
Every Tribe, Every Tear
Rev 7: 9-17
Do you have a
favorite scripture? I love asking people this question.
Can I let you in on a secret? In all the times I've
inquired, no one has ever quoted anything from Revelation,
even though it features some of the most exquisite passages
in all the Bible, something hymn writers have known for
ages. Check the index of any hymnal and you'll see what I
mean.
Most of us don't keep company with Revelation. Its mystical
end-times imagery not only confounds us, it also terrifies
us. Part of what makes Revelation so scary, it seems to me,
is that it points away from what we know to a future where
the familiar, the same ol' same ol' isn't anymore. A future
that so defies description that it can only be expressed in
images earth-bound minds can scarcely comprehend: winged
creatures and mounted riders with sapphire breastplates and
angels with faces like the sun and pillars of fire for legs.
If Revelation gives us a glimpse of a future inhabited by
beings unlike any we have ever encountered, then it also
discloses a future in which the incomprehensible happens:
war breaks out in heaven and chaos is unleashed and spills
out onto the earth for a thousand years.
When the spiritual dust finally settles, Revelation tells
us, everything old will have passed away. And a new heaven
and a new earth will come into being, and God's own will
spend all eternity in worshipful praise of God.
More...
From April 22, 2007
Seeing with New Eyes
Acts 9: 1-20
David Murrow is concerned. He thinks the church is low on
testosterone, a subject he explores at length in his book
Why Men Hate Going to Church. Men don't want to sit in a pew
on Sunday mornings, Murrow insists; they want to be out
seeking adventure, risk, and challenge.
In order to draw men in, Murrow is calling
for a different kind of church: one that offers the
excitement of movie clips and spills over with raucous
music. Murrow advocates a church short on words and long on
action. A church that replaces those "Jesus is my boyfriend" flavored praise hymns with manly-man stuff,
songs that if they weren't laced with God language might be
confused with war chants.
I couldn't help but think of Mr. Murrow on
Monday when I turned to The Book of Acts and read today's
scripture. Now here's a scene that would make guys like him
sit up and cheer. It's all action, this passage.
More...
From April 15, 2007
Unless
John 20: 19-29
The disciples huddle behind locked doors, afraid that Jesus'
fate might soon be theirs. Speaking in hushed tones, each
time they hear a voice in the stairwell or a suspicious
sound in the street below, everything stops: conversation,
breathing, even hearts.
A bolt on the door eases their fears. But it doesn't
eliminate them. Partly because their fears stretch further
than concern about authorities and the possibility of
arrest. The disciples are also afraid of what they remember.
Not about Jesus' crucifixion but what they remember about
themselves. Not one of them is innocent. Each man in his own
way has failed the Lord in his time of greatest need.
As much as they fear the authorities and the contents of
their own consciences, perhaps the disciples also fear God.
Not even a fortress can safeguard cowards and fickle
friends.
More...
From
April 8, 2007
Forever Changed
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24,
John 20: 1-18
What would you do if you knew you could
not fail? What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
A friend loved to pose this question. When he asked, I never
knew quite how to respond. Partly because I wasn't sure why
he asked it. Did he think I was holding back, not risking?
Or was it that he wanted me to turn the question back on
him?
What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
More...
From
March 25, 2007
Touched by Love
John 12: 1-8
Mary, you remember her. She's the woman who sat
herself down at Jesus' feet and listened while
her sister toiled in the kitchen and boiled with
resentment. Mary. You remember how Jesus
affirmed her wise seeking.
Mary kneels before Jesus again today. But things
are different this time. Mary wants to give
instead of receive. And lavishly. She pours out
perfumed oil. Oil so expensive it would have
cost a full year's wages. She slathers Jesus'
feet with it and then gently, lovingly works it
in with her hands. And when she's done, she
wipes away the excess with her hair.
More...
From March 18, 2007
Turning Toward Home
Luke 15: 1-1-3, 11b-32
A Greek proverb goes like this: if horses had gods, they would look like horses.
More and more I have come to see how our ideas about God and God's love look
like the horses in our lives, that is, the people around us. Especially
impactful in shaping our notions of God are those who have influence over us:
parents, spouses, teachers, bosses, and such.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, not if the people in your life are
magnificently compassionate, exquisitely forgiving, and profoundly loving. If
that's the case, then the God of your imagining is most likely a God you want to
cozy up to and call upon, a God who listens and loves well.
More...
From March 11, 2007
Eat Up!
Isaiah 55: 1-9
"Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and
delight yourselves in rich food."
I can see it now, the multi-million dollar advertising
campaign. Paula Deen and her people would launch it or
maybe some restaurant chain serving up Emeril Lagasse's
best recipes.
"Delight yourselves in rich food," an enticing voice
would purr as the camera slowly panned over platters and
bowls of delectibles so inviting, so luscious, that just
the sight of them would send your mouth watering and
your tummy growling.
"Rich food? Delight yourselves!" The genius of the
campaign wouldn't be the slogan. Oh no. It would be the
scriptural citation that accompanied it: "Isaiah 55: 2."
What could be better than that scriptural stamp of
approval? Eat up, everybody! It's God's will!
More...
From March 4, 2007
An Invitation to
Imitation
Phil 3: 17
& 4:1
They say the sincerest form of flattery is imitation.
Imitation. Whoever coined this phrase had to have been
the imitator, not the imitated.
Don't believe me? Think about the first few episodes of
any season of American Idol when any number of folks
step forward to sing. If stars with hit singles feel
flattered by these imitations, I'd be very very
surprised.
Imitation is far more than flattery, of course.
Imitation is also survival. It's how we get from infancy
to adulthood. God has given us the instinct for
observation and replication of behavior. A gift that
manifests almost as soon as we're born. Hold a baby like
Conner or Dylan in your arms and establish eye contact.
Then stick out your tongue. Before you know it, baby
will too.
More...
From February 25, 2007
Stripped Down
Isaiah 43: 1-7; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted..."
The land was colorless mostly, bleak and barren, foreboding. And it seemed
to go on forever. Each peak Jesus climbed inevitably gave way to one more lonesome
valley. Down he would trek and then up the other side, hoping that the next
rise would be the one that led on to green, to shade, to water. It didn't.
More...
From February 18, 2007
Burning for God
Luke 9: 28-36
"Don't look straight at it or you could blind yourself," my father warned
us kids. "It" was a mid-summer solar eclipse happening later that day.
"Don't look straight at it." Dad was emphatic. I wanted to obey my father,
I really did. But then I went outside, curious. Was the world looked any different
on the day of an eclipse? The sun tugged at me like a magnet. Against my will,
it pulled my eyes its direction.
I looked away quickly but not quickly enough. My eyes sizzled like the breakfast
bacon my mother cooked up on Sunday mornings.
More...
From February 11, 2007
Guess Who?
Isaiah 43: 1-7; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
Monday morning I sat down with Jae Gottman who is back ministering at First
Christian Church part time now. If you saw Jae's story in the Paducah Sun recently,
you know it is truly an answer to prayer
that he is still with us.
When conversation turned from Jae's illness to the world religions class I
took over for him, Jae wanted to thank me. But I wouldn't let him.
"Guess who really got the education?" I teased. I hadn't expected to learn
so much. Particularly about the Christian point of view of some of Jae's students.
More...
From February 4, 2007
A Surprising Catch
Luke 5: 1-11
Call in an expert. We've all had to do that. Phil Ehrhardt did when the sanctuary
thermostat went caput a few weeks ago. When my computer was on the fritz recently,
a tech-savvy friend on the other end of the phone got everything squared away
in no time.
Our Bubba Randles deals every day with folks who have come to the important
conclusion that they need his expertise; sometimes because they've tried and
failed themselves and other times because they know better than to take matters
into their own hands.
More...
From January 28, 2007
Answering a Call
Jeremiah 1: 4-10
Throughout the Bible we are blessed with stories in which God comes to particular
people and calls them to ministry. Calls them to serve. Calls them to give
themselves over to God's work in the world.
Read a few of these call stories and you'll quickly see how marvelously inventive
God is. Each encounter is as distinctive as the person God is calling.
For instance, Moses is minding his own business herding his father-in-law's
sheep when God speaks to him through a burning bush about Egypt's misery and
Moses' role as liberator.
More...
From January 14, 2007
Shameless Abundance
John 2: 1-11
Ever prepared a feast for your love? One man shares his plan.
"It should be nearing evening as you set the table, first covering it with
a gingham tablecloth, then arranging the two place settings--yours on the left,
and one for Agnus, your lily of a sweetheart, on the right. Place two candles
mid-table, taking care to leave sufficient space between them so as to be able
to view Agnus...."
More...
From January 7, 2007
The Current Knows
Isaiah 43: 1-7; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
Certainty. If there was one thing the students in last semester's World Religions
class insisted on, it was certainty. I would never have known this if I hadn't
stepped in to teach for my colleague Jae Gottman, who fell ill mid-October.
What were so many students certain about? Sin. Salvation. Scripture. They
had Christianity all figured out and didn't hesitate to tell me so. Especially
when I made statements or asked questions that challenged their fixed point
of view.
More...
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