A Meditation from Southminster Presbyterian Church Luke 2:22-40 Our reading this morning from Luke’s gospel picks up right after our Christmas Eve story. Mary and Joseph have presumably returned from Bethlehem to Nazareth, and then when the baby was 8 days old, they named him Jesus as they had been instructed by the angel and…
Many of you have heard that President elect Obama has invited Rick Warren, pastor of the conservative Saddleback Church of California, to pray at the inauguration. Now, I do not agree with Pastor Warren on much, I suspect. We approach our faith from very different places. And I completely disagree with him on his support…
A Sermon Preached at Southminster Presbyterian Nov 30, 2008 Mark 13:24-37 Isaiah 64:1-9 For those of you who were hoping for a nice, cozy, and comfortable entrance into Advent, let me apologize right now. Our texts this morning are anything but comfortable. They are unsettling. If we’re listening, we should be both excited and horrified…
I hope that each of you has a day full of gratitude. I pray that gratitude is not just saved for one day a year, but may become the air we breathe.I just received Walter Brueggemann’s new book, “Prayers for a Privileged People”. Here is his prayer for Thanksgiving:Amid football, family, and too much food,we…
StoryCorps is declaring November 28, 2008 the first annual National Day of Listening. This holiday season, ask the people around you about their lives — it could be your grandmother, a teacher, or someone from the neighborhood. By listening to their stories, you will be telling them that they matter and they won’t ever be…
A Brief Political Moment… James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, would like people to think that when he speaks, he speaks for all people who are Christian. And perhaps he does speak for some. But he does not speak for me. He recently posted a letter from the United States in 2012 if Obama…
A Sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church November 2, 2008 John 4:4-29, 39-42 I am the woman at the well. To look at my life today, it might not be so easy for you to connect me with her. I have not had five husbands. And I can gather my water in the cool of…
Joshua 24:14-24 Matthew 25:1-13 A sermon preached October 26, 2008 Southminster Presbyterian Boise, Idaho Our weddings still have bridesmaids, but other than that, perhaps we feel a little removed from this parable of Jesus’ in Matthew. When we invite people to our weddings today, we tell people to show up at a particular time. 2:00…
Still not sure quite what it is, but my friend Jill has challenged me. Who can resist?She “tagged” me to do this thing where I’m supposed to blog about “six uninteresting things about me.” It’s called a meme. “For those of you who don’t know what a meme is, you can read this site that…
Yesterday I was installed into my call as Minister of Southminster Presbyterian Church. It was a great celebration and was very humbling to be welcomed into ministry by such a great crowd. In addition to church members who came out in big numbers, there were many representatives from other Presbyterian congregations and clergy, and even…
Glass Overflowing 