This morning I served as guest pastor at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Dallas, Texas. It was a joy to be with them for a second time (last year I joined them for worship as a guest preacher).
Central Lutheran Church is among the founding member churches of White Rock Center of Hope. It was also WRCH’s founder, Donagene Christian’s church.
I’m thankful for their continued strong support of WRCH and for Rev. Veronika Czutor’s invitation to step in this morning while she is enjoying some well deserved time away.
The Sermon
My message, “God is Still Speaking,” was based on the lectionary passages: Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7, and Mark 1:4-11.
Central Lutheran Council President Mark Buie and Vice President Ted Steinke
Excerpt
Before I came to White Rock Center of Hope, I spent most of my adult life serving local churches. During that time, I was privileged to serve 9 congregations affiliated with 5 denominations (and, yes, the ELCA made my list).
One of the joyful parts of being a pastor in the context of a local community of faith is building relationships with people and listening to their stories.
In seminary they never told me that some of these conversations would include the phrase, “I’ve never told anyone this, but . . .”
To maintain confidentiality, I won’t share the details of the stories that followed. Instead, I’d like you to know that a significant number of these accounts were faith related.
In some cases, people heard from God and regretted failing to take action and wondered how a different response might have changed their life.
In others, people heard from God in such dramatic ways that sharing seemed awkward or even impossible to communicate.
While each of our stories is unique, they all include moments when God speaks.
How exactly does God speak? A good place to begin answering this question is . . . (For more, check out the full manuscript or watch the sermon below).
So What?
As a new year begins we are used to thinking about what we’d like to accomplish in the year ahead.
If every follower of the Way of Jesus committed to actively listening to the voice of our Still Speaking God and to responding in big, bold, and beautiful ways the world would benefit.
Are you ready to be among those who are fully committed to doing so?
