Thursday, May 31, 2012

Today's Moment for Reflection


The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
      flows into a pure soul the way that light
      rushes into a transparent object.
The more love it finds, the more it gives itself; 

      so that, as we grow clear and open,
      the more complete the joy of heaven is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
      the greater the intensity of their love,
      and, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other.


Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Today's Moment for Reflection


Deep Embrace
by Denise Levertov

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit's deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Looking Toward Sunday




May 13, 2012 - Sixth Sunday of Easter 

"Beautiful Feet"


This Sunday's sermon is the third in a 4-week series about "Holy Conversations". Holy conversation is simply engaging in friendly, no-pressure, give-and-take talk about our faith, about our experience of God, about why Jesus is so important to us.

Our scripture reading for the day will be Romans 10:12-15  (click here to read the passage). The apostle Paul reminds the church in Rome that the love and grace of Jesus are available to all people, without distinction. Paul promises that Jesus will be present to all who call on him.  But, he asks, how are people to call on Jesus if they've never heard of him?  And who will tell them if they've never heard?

Do you know people who need to hear?  People who are looking for what you have found in Jesus?  Perhaps someone who's struggling with a sense of emptiness or who longs to know what the purpose of life is.  Maybe someone who feels a need for inner peace. Perhaps someone who wants desperately to believe they are loved and lovable.  Those who are painfully aware of the "God-shaped hole" in their lives.   

Will you be the "beautiful feet" that bring the good news to them? 

See you on Sunday! 

(PS - Don't forget - you can drop into the "Holy Conversation" study in the parlor on Wednesday at 6 PM or on Sunday at 9:15 AM.  You can also join us for the sermon talk-back during fellowship time after the 10:30 worship service.)

Friday, May 4, 2012

Looking Toward Sunday



May 6, 2012 - Fifth Sunday of Easter 

"Table Talk"


This Sunday's sermon is the second in a 4-week series about "Holy Conversations". Holy conversations are those opportunities we have for telling our stories, sharing our faith journeys, and swapping "God talk" in a casual, friendly, conversational way. 

Our scripture reading for the day will be Acts 22:6-16 (click here to read the passage). As he has done before, the apostle Paul tells the powerful story of his conversion experience.  Even now, in the face of danger among those who oppose him, Paul is compelled to share his experience of Jesus - not his carefully constructed theology, but his own, deeply personal experience of the risen Christ.  

That's the starting point for our "holy conversations" - the sharing of our own personal stories.  Not theological treatises or intellectual arguments or biblical proofs or the "plan of salvation".  What people want to hear - the faith talk that they find most compelling - are our own personal stories of how God is real and active in our lives.   

We all have stories to tell.  And while few of them are as dramatic as Paul's conversion experience, they have just as much impact (arguably more so) on our conversation partners.  Have you thought about your own faith narrative?  What are the experiences, the occurrences, the "God moments" that you would share?  What are the stories someone is just waiting for you to tell? 

See you on Sunday! 

(PS - Don't forget - you can drop into the "Holy Conversation" study in the parlor on Wednesdays at 6 PM or on Sundays at 9:15 AM.  You can also join us for the sermon talk-back during fellowship time after the 10:30 worship service.)