Morning Worship, 12/22/13: "No Room in the Inn"

I once saw a picturesque Nativity scene. Everything was in its rightful place--animals, wise men, Mary & Joseph, even a star. Then my eyes were drawn to the center, where the baby Jesus sit...in a laundry basket. While it seemed absurd at first, I quickly realized how appropriate that symbolism was.



May the Lord be with you!

Morning Worship, 12/15/13: "The Lion & the Lamb"

Is the scene described by Isaiah, where the lion and lamb will one day lie down together, the stuff of Traveler's Insurance commercials like the one above? Is it a cute and cuddly scene? Or is it dangerous? Who is this child that sits in the middle of the delicate peace, and what does he require of us?



May the Lord be with you this Advent.

Morning Worship, 12/8/13: "Carol Sing"

Leah & Rodger Trent lead us in a carol sing, providing historical information on carols and singing them with the congregation. 

May the Lord be with you this Advent. 

Morning Worship, 12/1/13: "Warring Opinions"

Someone recently said they’d like to hear my opinions more often.  I assured them my opinions weren’t any good anyway since they changed so often, but they were insistent.  So now I say, “Be careful what you wish for…you just might get it.”  This time of year, Christians inevitably cry foul, upset that they can’t wish anyone “Merry Christmas.”  They jump up and down about how we’re “taking Christ out of Christmas!” (which seems like very Christ-like behavior to me.)  They tell everyone how outraged they are, stomp their feet, and say “merry Christmas” in public places as if they are launching missiles in a battle.  They have even declared a war against the so-called “war on Christmas.”  So, what’s my opinion of that?  They…are only making it worse.  



May the Lord be with you this Advent.

Morning Worship, 11/3/13: "Zacchaeus or the Crowd?"

"The conversion of Zacchaeus" is a time-honored reading of this parable: Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus, is changed forever when he does, and becomes a generous man. Such an interpretation, though, is based on a cursory reading of the story. What if this was a conversion story...but not the conversion story of Zacchaeus?



May God bless you!

Morning Worship, 10/27/13: "How do you pray?"

This week’s Scripture tells the story of a reversal of roles.  In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were not popular.  Imagine if you were responsible for paying your federal taxes to your neighbor, who set the rates and skimmed what he wanted off the top.  Would you like him?  Tax collectors were despised.  Pharisees, on the other hand, were adored and respected.  They kept the religious law, lived holy lives, and served as an example to their community of righteousness.  Yet, the Pharisee is set up as the villain and the tax collector is the hero of this story.  What does this role reversal teach us?



May the Lord be with you!

Morning Worship, 10/20/13

Rev. Claire Butler of the Presbytery of WV preaches on the parable of the unjust judge, challenging our notions of what it means to be missional.



May the Lord be with you!