Sermon Text: Luke 8:40-56 Sermon Excerpt For the last eight weeks we have been exploring the priorities of Jesus. This morning, we conclude our journey with what appears to be Jesus’ top priority: healing. Did you realize that the Gospels contain three dozen different healing events? For those of you who appreciate statistics, healing lands in first place by quite a margin. Jesus is associated with 36 unique healing events, which is 50% greater than the priority that Read More …
Discipleship
Sermon: A Concert of Prayer (#1238)
Sermon Text: Matthew 6:5-14 Sermon Excerpt Prayer becomes a part of people’s lives in many ways. What is your story? How did you come to learn of prayer? When did you begin to pray? Maybe you remember childhood prayers – your own or those of your children or grandchildren. Simple prayers like . . . Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. OR . . . Perhaps as a youngster you were taught to Read More …
Sabbaticals for All? (#1236)
Zack Hunt recently wrote a blog post containing a rather unusual suggestion: sabbaticals from church for all churchgoers. Rather than stating with certainty that this is the best or even right way forward, he raises the idea as a possibility. Hunt suggests that we make taking a sabbatical from church an accepted, if not encouraged, part of the Christian life for lay people. That’s right. I think it might be a good idea for all of us, from time to time or even just once in our Read More …
I Am-Ness (#1232)
Ron Buford served as the lead architect of the United Church of Christ‘s (UCC) Still Speaking campaign, which began in 2002 (more here). He was the keynote speaker for the fall gathering of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ (Nov. 9, 2013). Buford's presentation focused on the theology of the Still Speaking campaign and included multiple powerful remarks about the I Am-ness of God. The two such comments that resonated most powerfully with me are: Read More …
Sermon: The Jesus Creed (#1231)
Sermon Text - Mark 12:28-31 Sermon Excerpt Every semester I teach a survey course in world religions at Hodges University. While most students are fascinated to learn about a new religion every week, they tend to find the pace challenging. When we reach the eleventh week of the term, many breathe a sigh of relief since it is the week we consider Christianity. Many of my students, perhaps like most of you, feel confident they know Christianity better than any other Read More …
Review of Catching Fire, Becoming Flame (#1226)
Meet the Author Albert Haase is a popular preacher in both Catholic and Protestant churches, a teacher of spiritual formation and spiritual direction, and the co-host of the weekly radio show, "Spirit and Life." Haase is the author of eight books on popular spirituality, including Instruments of Christ: Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi (2011), The Sacred Moment: Becoming Holy Right Where You Are (2010), and Living the Lord's Prayer: Read More …
Sermon: Surprised by Sainthood (#1224)
Sermon Text: Philippians 2:1-11 Sermon Excerpt I grew up in a saint-free world. While I went to church every Sunday, I don't recall any real mention of the saints. The little I knew of the saints, I learned from my Catholic friends. I assumed that saints were their domain. My childhood memories are not incorrect, but they certainly don't tell the whole story. After all, we find ourselves gathered this day in a Protestant church celebrating All Saints' Day. Is Read More …
Adult Enrichment – 2014 (#1222)
Earlier this week, Naples United Church of Christ's third annual adult enrichment booklet was published. I invite you to check it out below. If you happen to find yourself in Southwest Florida, please consider attending one or more of the events. This year's educational offerings include Diana Butler Bass, Lauren Artress, and Ted Coiné. So What? The 2014 edition is the third annual adult enrichment publication at Naples UCC. The idea for this format started in 2011 Read More …
A Call to Weirdness (#1221)
Recently Beverly Duncan, Interim Associate Minster at Naples United Church of Christ, wrote an article in the Naples Daily News titled "Dare to be Weird." Since her piece focuses on the call for Christians to embrace weirdness on this popular holiday, I wanted to share her wisdom with you today. Duncan writes: In our culture today we keep letting ourselves be pulled into media escapism and ghoulish fascination with the kinky and the weird that can get us too far off the Read More …
Sermon: Being and Making Disciples (#1217)
Sermon Text: Matthew 28:16-20 Sermon Excerpt Earlier this week, I read an article about the big shifts in the global religious landscape. This piece offered many significant facts based on the Pew Research Center's recent comprehensive demographic study of religion in over 230 countries and territories. Their research finds that 84% of all people in the world today practice a religion. Christianity is the world's largest religion, and it is a majority religion in 157 Read More …