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Showing posts from July, 2012

Lectionary Notes for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Readings for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, 8/5/12: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Psalm 51:1-12, Ephesians 4:1-16, John 6:24-35 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a: Today is  part two of the story  of David's act of adultery/deceit/murder/etc. I wonder how much room to disagree Bathsheba had in this whole affair. Could she refuse the king? Did she know of his plotting to kill her husband, or think it was a strange coincidence? Did she want to marry David? As usual, unfortunately in the scriptures, we hear less from the women than I at least would like. "You are the man!" Nathan helps David to see, by showing him the sin in another. We are so much better at seeing the sins of others, aren't we? But as Jesus would later teach, we first have to check for planks in our own eyes... :12 - David's 'private' sin is shown by God to be a public thing. Is individual sin only public for leaders, like David, or like Bill Clinton? Or is part of being in a community of faith realizi

Sermon for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost,"Year B, "HxWxL"

Sermon 7/29/12 Ephesians 3:14-21 HxWxL “She’s finally set down roots.” I’ve never had so much feedback on a post I made on facebook as I did this week, when I posted words that were music to my own ears: “I am officially a homeowner!” Many of you know that I’ve been in the process of buying a home in Liverpool, and if you’ve been through the process yourself, you know that it is an arduous process! By the end of it, I wasn’t sure whether I was more excited to be a homeowner, or simply be done with submitting document after document to verify that I would be able to handle buying a home! But I was definitely touched and cheered by an outpouring of congratulatory posts of my facebook announcement. And that one stood out to me: “She’s finally set down roots.” I would definitely describe myself as a grounded person, but these last several years have involved a lot of moving around for me. I spent a short time serving a church in New Jersey, but longed to come back to my friends

Lectionary Notes for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Sorry these have been missing the last couple weeks!  Readings for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, 7/29/12: 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:1-21 2 Samuel 11:1-15: Uh-oh. Things were going so well. Then David saw Bathsheba. Today we get part one of this story of temptation and sin. What tempts you? When have you given into temptation? What do you think makes you take that 'plunge' into committing a sin you know you shouldn't? Poor Uriah is the big loser all around in all of this. Cheated on, by the king. Tricked. Murdered. No where in the story when David is having Uriah set up does someone question his intention/authority. No doubt, people would fear questioning the king. Still, wasn't their someone who could step in and ask David what he was thinking? Could you question authority in a way that would bring risk to yourself? Psalm 14: "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'  Chris Haslam , my first stop for quality ex

Sermon for Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - Non-lectionary, "This is Different," John 10:1-10

Sermon 7/1/12 John 10:1-10 This is Different!             Perhaps all of you feel a little bit like I do today. When I first found out I was being appointed to Liverpool First, it was early February. July 1 st seemed like something off in the distance, a long way away. But of course, these last months have been busy and full, and time has flown by, and here we are, at the beginning of this new stage in our faith journey – new for you, new for me and Aaron, new for Nancy and Chris, new things for Penny, new things for Russ and Irene. This is an extremely significant time of transition for all of us, and we are all wondering what the future will hold. It’s a lot to take in!             Aaron and I are so excited to be here with you today, to be joining you, as we seek, together, to hear God’s call and respond in faithful action. We have been planning and preparing and dreaming, and we are ready to get started! There is a lot that is new and different for Aaron and me in t