Sent to Foreigners – Joseph’s Brothers
August 16, 2020 Sent to Foreigners: Joseph’s Brothers 11th Pentecost Genesis 5:1-15 August 16, 2020 Matthew 15:21-28 My letters went to Curlew by accident. I had moved from Seattle to Spokane to study counseling at Whitworth. The secretary at my former church made a typographical error when publishing my new address in the church newsletter, and the ZIP Code was that of Curlew, WA, rather than northern Spokane. As a result, the first several letters I received from folks in Seattle…
Sent to Foreigners – Joseph
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Last week, I talked about our Family of Faith—a family that stretches back for thousands of years. We have lots of characters in our family, some embarrassing events, and a number of miraculous events—but our Scriptures are full of this family history! Today, I want to talk about an early event in the life of our family, one that shows how to put the FUN in dysFUNctional! And I want to explore how God can use EVEN…
Empowered Despite Grief
Empowered Despite Grief 9th Pentecost Psalm 17:1-7, 15 Matthew 14:13-21 Friends, you and I are one chapter in a l-o-n-g story—the story of God’s work in this world. There have been some pretty embarrassing chapters about our spiritual ancestors—painfully recorded in Scripture. And there have been some funny moments—like when Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, and asked him to call him out of the boat and walk on water as well. When he suddenly realized that he was walking on water, he started…
A Belle Melange
A Belle Mélange Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 16:13-19 In the 2001 movie, Tortilla Soup, Hector Elizondo plays the part of a retired chef—retired because he has somehow lost his sense of taste (and, with it, his self-confidence). But his old partner calls him with an emergency—they are catering a fancy dinner and one of the junior chefs has messed up the dessert. They need his help to rescue the dinner! He arrives on the scene, sees what they have to work with,…
Wisdom is Vindicated by Deeds
Wisdom Is Vindicated by Deeds 5th Pentecost Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 I am a big fan of Snoopy, the cute little beagle from Peanuts! When everyone else is going frantic with worry, Snoopy always seems to have a steady compass and an aptitude for JOY! In one of his more philosophical moods, Snoopy was contemplating the question of whether it is more important to BE or to DO. Some people emphasize how crucial it is to BE, while others focus on what…
Choose Your Master
Choose Your Master 4th Pentecost Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Back in the 70’s, there was a mini-series on TV that almost everyone in the country tuned into. It was about a young man, Kunta Kintay, who was captured by slavers and brought to America and sold to a plantation owner. The series chronicled the life of Kunta and his descendants (like “Chicken George”) and how the story of his life was passed down through the generations to Alex Haley, the…
His Eye is on the Sparrow
His Eye Is on the Sparrow Fathers’ Day Genesis 21:8-21 Matthew 10:29-39 Are any of you “birdwatchers”? I guess all of us are, to one degree or another, because we notice birds. But can you imagine anyone ever saying, “Oh, look! There’s a sparrow!”? It just doesn’t happen. Sparrows are small and brown and common—almost beneath our notice. After all, it’s the rare birds, the colorful birds that grab our attention and make us say, “Oh, look! See that bird?!” In similar…
Our Three in One God
Our Three-in-One God Trinity Sunday Genesis 1:1-5 Matthew 28:16-20 Have you ever been to a circus? I like watching the tight-rope walkers. They do amazing things while traversing a cable that has been strung between two posts—a cable that is under tremendous tension. Both posts are trying to pull the cable in opposite directions, and that is what makes a tight-rope tight—makes it possible to walk on it. Circuses don’t have “loose-rope” walkers—it just wouldn’t work. The tension is what makes tight-rope walking possible.…
The Spirit Gives Variety
The Spirit Gives Variety Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 Years ago, I was serving a church in north Idaho. There was a man in our church, Clayton Stoltz, who came to worship every other Sunday. Sometimes he would apologize for missing church so frequently, but he had an appointment with the Alzheimer’s men in the nursing home. Every other day, he would take his shaver and shave these men, while a stream of conversation flowed (even if he was…
Christ’s Prayer for Us
Christ’s Prayer for Us 7th Easter Acts 1:6-14 1Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 In C. S. Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children have stumbled into the land of Narnia. It is winter, and has been for a long time (but never Christmas!), because the evil witch that rules the land likes winter. The children are told an ancient prophecy: Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will…
Created for Love
May 17, 2020 Created for Love 6th Easter 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 How do you feel about obedience? What do you do when you are told to obey? I would like you to imagine that you have been placed in a BIG playfield. Everywhere you look, there are inviting places to play. There is equipment for all ages, all ability levels to enjoy, and there are open fields with smooth grass just begging for all kinds of ball games. The place is…
A Glimpse of God
A Glimpse of God Mothers’ Day 5th Easter Acts 7:55-60 John 14:1-14 Years ago, before he was a popular author and speaker, Tony Campolo was an associate pastor in a church. On Mothers’ Day, he was supposed to read from Second Timothy, chapter one, which includes these words: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind…