Sermon Summary

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

When I was younger, my Grandpa McCracken loved to play dominos with me. Both regular dominos, and Giveaway. Now, he was not your typical sweet old Grandpa, he rejoiced in trouncing young people in games, and he excelled in dominos. He gloated, chuckled, he did not pull any punches, and he would not allow my tears to soften his domin[o]-ation. Remember, a holiness preacher.

Contrast that with Steve’s maternal grandfather, Grandpa Key. Earl Key was a rough and tough roustabout on the Oklahoma oil fields. Strong, too. I remember when he was in his 70’s [or 80’s?] he tried to open the pull-up garage door, and not knowing it was locked, he broke the door lifting on it. And he was short. 5 feet tall, so consider the torque that took!

Earl Key was kind of feisty—he was the one who would never call me by my name—to him I was “Be Nice” til the day he died. Tough, feisty, strong, humorous. Unlike my grandfather who loved playing dominos and dominating his grandchildren and great grandchildren at the game, Steve’s grandpa never played a game of dominos after he met King Jesus.

What was the difference between these two men who both grew up in the Midwest in the same decades? The difference was what the dominos meant to them. To John McCracken, dominos were a source of entertainment and fun, and looking back on it, an opportunity to toughen up his offspring.

To Earl Key, dominos were a source of gambling on the oilfields, and for the rest of his life, dominos reminded him of gambling, and competition, and the darkness of his life before Christ.

Dominos. Little rectangles with pips or dots on them. Are they good or evil? What makes the difference?
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Sermon Summary

John 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:5-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

When I was younger, my grandfather used to take me fishing with him. I thought it was very cool that he wanted me to go with him—I really didn’t know what it meant to “go fishing.”  What it DID mean to me was that I got to spend time with someone I loved, and do something outside the house. I was kind of a rowdy kid and enjoyed busy activities.

When it got down to the actual FISHING time, well, I wasn’t so crazy about worms, so Grampa let me use cubes of smelly cheese instead of worms to put on my hooks. It’s funny, but the only part I don’t have vivid memories of is the actual catching of any fish. I remember the going part, the looking for the right spot for fishing, the preparing of the hooks, and the mercy thwacking Grampa did with his pocket knife on the back of their heads. No suffering for OUR FISH.

Grampa and I had a deal: he would clean the fish and I would fry it. At the time I was grateful for that, but looking back on it now, I realize that I REALLY got the best deal—I was an inexperienced cook, to put it kindly.

For us, Grampa and me, fishing was a recreational pastime. True, we ate what we caught and threw back anything we did not intend to eat, but we did not have to fish. We had other food in our fridge. If we didn’t catch anything, we would not go hungry.

This morning we are going to think about a totally different kind of fishing. One designed and exhorted by a carpenter, not a fisherman.

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Sermon Summary

Psalm 51; Acts 19:1-4; Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:5-11

That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means . . . (Romans 6:5 TM)

I get a little personal with the message today—actually all of my messages are personal: I can’t really speak of what I know and think and feel without it being personal but when we speak of baptism, that is a very concrete, very real, very here-and-now event that is intimately related to who we are as people of God. Through this holy act we are connected to generations of believers who have obediently submitted to something so mysterious and humbling.

First, for a little history on the subject. Washing has been around as long as there have been people who get dirty. So what is the difference between washing [our clothes, our things, ourselves] and baptism? That is a good question—glad you asked!

The basic difference—the bottom line—is that

• Washing is something WE do
• Baptism is something GOD does

True, we definitely have to be a part of baptism—in other words—we do something in it, but the special part, the SACRAMENT, is what God does. [Read more…]

Sermon Summary

Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Yesterday, January 6, was the traditional day of Epiphany. A couple of Sundays ago we talked about that silly song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and the actual meaning of it, and yesterday was the day to sing about the 12 drummers drumming. But what IS Epiphany?

It is the last day of Christmas. It is traditionally when those wise guys visited the Christ Child, the Messiah. Following Epiphany, we enter into the first 2 seasons in the church year called Ordinary Time. Our scripture readings during this time focus on the life and ministry of Jesus and invite us to grow deeper and stronger in our faith.

Epiphany means manifestation or appearance; shining forth of God to humankind. Epiphany marks the first manifestation (or showing) of Jesus to the Gentiles. When I was teaching literature, many characters in the books we were studying would have an epiphany in the story—this is when the little light bulb would go on over their head—and the story would take a new turn. An epiphany would always mark a significant change for that character, and because of that, it would change the course of the entire story. Not only was that one character changed, but the other characters were affected by that epiphany, and that always changed the “rest of the story.”
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Sermon Summary

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-6a; Matthew 25:31-46

Calendars. Cycles. Ever since I can remember, I have had this picture in my head of a calendar year. I know that some of you are going to think that maybe there are really rocks in my head, but I can’t help what you think. Anyway, I think of the calendar year as a circle, kind of like a clock, with the end of August/beginning of September at about 8:30 on the clock, with New Year’s Day at straight up 12:00, and the end of May/beginning of June landing at about 4:30. Now, if you are picturing MY calendar right now, you might realize that I have just described the school year, with summer being a little longer in perspective than the rest of the year.  I can’t explain it—that’s just the way I see it. [Read more…]