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Showing posts from January, 2010

Now, Let's Go Get'em!!!

Will you fight? No, we will run and live. Shame on you. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're going to let it be the worst. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Well, I'm not going home. We've come too far! And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. A day may come when the courage of men fails... but it is not THIS day. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further! I'm not saying it's going to be easy. You're going to work harder than you ever worked before. But that's fine, we'll just get tougher with it! If a person grits his teeth and shows real determination, failure is not an option. That's how winning is done! Believe me when I say we can break this army here, and win just one for the Gipper. But I say to you what every warrior has known since the beginning of time: you've got to get mad. I mean plum mad dog m

I Can See The Day When My Hair's Full Gray And I Finally Disappear

While on our trip to Myrtle Beach, we spend some time at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, feeding my inner parrot-head. So as a way to fight the winter blahs, I may be highlighting some of Jimmy's songs. Hey, consider yourself lucky that you aren't being forced to listen to my iPod mixes. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers - One Particular Harbour

Do Whatever He Tells You

I spent part of this week in Myrtle Beach with my mother. She has been visiting me here in the Garden since before Thanksgiving. I promised her that if she came down here, she would be out of the cold and snow. Boy, did I screw that one up. So we went to Myrtle Beach, and while it was cold for them, it was a great respite for us. This is a combination of different versions of the sermon I gave today (January 17). It was not the sermon I thought I would give when we headed to Myrtle Beach. I was mentally writing a sermon on gifts. That shows up in here. I thought about the greatness of the proclamation of the Isaiah text. That shows up in here. I decided against preaching about the bossiness of the mother of Jesus, at least while my mom was in attendance. But it shows up in here. I don't know what I think of this sermon. I'm conflicted with faith in the face of the death in Haiti. That shows up big time in here. ‘ You save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your s

Dealing with Daily Threshing

This is my manuscript for the sermon I was going to preach on Sunday celebrating the Baptism of Jesus. Church was canceled in the Garden due to drifting and I wasn't sure of the roads to head down the mountain. The texts we re Isaiah 43:1-7 , Acts 8:14-17 and Luke 3:15-22. I had to look up what threshing was, because, well, to be honest, we don’t do a lot of wheat farming in Saginaw, Michigan. In the threshing rooms, the grains of wheat are place on the ground and then pounded until they break open. The stalks of wheat are beaten by sticks and rods. Metal bars and chains are used to pound the stalks. They are trampled upon by cattle and other animals. They are crushed under rollers exerting tremendous pressure. It is then that the valuable seeds are separated from the useless husks and stalks that surrounded and hid them. It is a way of breaking open the shells to get at the important things inside. A winnowing fork or fan is then used to toss the broken mixture into the air. Th

I've Seen More Battles Lost Than I Have Battles Won

Suzanne Vega - The Soldier and the Queen / World Before Columbus

Hey Joe, It's Me. Can You Help Me Out?

This was my sermon for our Advent mid-week service on December 23rd. Please excuse the choppiness, I used an outline which I have tried to flesh out for this. The West Wing is one of my favorite shows. I especially love a scene between Leo McGary, the White House Chief of Staff, and Josh Lyman, his deputy. Josh has been dealing very poorly with having been shot, and is forced to see a therapist. Leo waits until late in the evening for Josh to get out of his appointment, and then tells him this story. "This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey,

Previously on LOST: What?

How Do You Start Your Gospel?

This is the manuscript I wrote for January 3; to preach on John 1.1-18 . I delivered an abbreviated version of the sermon because we had a very sparsely attended service and the sanctuary was very cold. When the lector reads the lessons while wearing gloves, I can take a hint. I love this piece of Scripture. Of all of the Gospels, the Gospel according to John is my favorite. It is different from the three Synoptic Gospels. It tells a different version of the story of the life and ministry and it does so in the beginning. Let’s assume you are called upon by the Holy Spirit to write the gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. How would you start? Now up to this time, no one has ever written a ‘gospel.’ People have written narratives of the life or events surrounding a person. But no one has written an account of a person who is the Savior of humanity. So if you are called upon to do it, how do you start? You have the blank papyrus scroll and a fresh quill in your hand. How

Where Are The Strong? And Who Are The Trusted?

As I walk through this wicked world, searching for light in the darkness of insanity, I ask myself: is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, there's one thing I wanna know: what's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding? Elvis Costello & the Imposters - What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding? Hope to post more regularly.