FIRST UNITED CHURCH of CHRIST

Texts: Psalm 8; John 16:12-15

“SpiritPerfect for Dummies” by John Severson

Many of you know that two of my retirement passions are photography and computing—and so while researching this scripture passage today—my mind easily moved to comparisons in the computer world I often live in and think in.

Listen to our text again from The Message:

“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, God will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. God won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. God will honor me; will take from me and deliver it to you.  Everything God has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘God takes from me and delivers to you.’

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Texts:  Numbers 11:24-30 and Acts 2:1-21

“Changes” by Carol Rutz

When was the last time you heard a passage from the book of Numbers?  Perhaps, like me, you regard some of those early Old Testament texts, collectively known as the Pentateuch or Torah, as a combination of terrific stories from Genesis and Exodus, followed by a rather tedious account of the Israelites’ sojourn in the desert.  The tedium is exacerbated by a whole lot of rule-making in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—not that story is completely omitted—but the emphasis is on right behavior and priestly duties, plus dietary and social rules.  The Ten Commandments are just one important feature of a hefty catalog of rules that regulate the Israelite community as the ten tribes earn their way into the Promised Land. 

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“The Gospel Without Words” by Mary Carlson

St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

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Sermon by Rev. Betty Clark

Where are the balloons?  Where is the parade?  Where is the party and the food to  celebrate this miracle? 

Whenever I have read this story in John’s gospel, I have wondered why nobody seemed happy about what had happened to this  man who had been blind for his entire life! 

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3rd Sunday in Lent – March 27, 2011

Sermon by Reverend Betty Clark

Where is God when an entire country suffers through an earthquake, a tsunami, and radiation fears? 

Where is God while families are living lives of desperation as they try to locate members of their own families and those of their neighbors, [...]

Banking on Tomorrow by Interim Minister Jeff Barton

Exodus 32:7-14 and Luke 15:1-10

The stories read this morning from Exodus and Luke are quite familiar. The larger context is important, or course, but an adaptation and condensation for our purposes today might well focus on the issue of money. Are we a community that fears what is before us so that we will spend recklessly – not in faith but in an idolatrous surrender to what is popular? Or are we a community that knows the promise and possibility of God before us so that we will be persistent in seeking the treasures given to us towards the opportunity to spend and give in celebration with each other as a people of joy and mutual covenant?

Which would you bank on, if forced to choose, today?

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My time as minister of First UCC has been filled with blessings, so that’s what I preached about on my last Sunday.

Blessings

Numbers 6:22-27;Matthew 5:1-10; Psalm 23 (choir; arranged by Bobby McFarrin)

There are two things that Ministers can do at the end of worship: they can send you forth with instructions about changing the world, or they can offer a blessing. Last week I gave you plenty of instructions (and copies of the handout are available for those of you who missed that sermon), so this week I will speak to you of blessings.

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When I taught college classes, I learned that the best way to get students’ attention was to number the items I was lecturing about.  So I used that tactic to share my dreams for the future life of the congregation.

 The Church of Our Dreams

Psalm 42; Romans 12:9-18; Luke 5:36-39

At some meeting or another, you may have heard me talk about “the church of my dreams.” That’s the church where things run smoothly, priorities are set and kept, volunteers are delighted to offer their talents, and the stewardship drive is always successful.

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A ll four Gospels tell the story of a woman anointing Jesus, but the version in Luke does not focus on the extravagance of the act.  Instead, Luke directs our attention to a poignant question:  “Do you see this woman?”       

Who Do You See?

Luke 7:36 – 8:3 

Over the last 12 ¾ years I have drawn on many sources for my sermons: personal experience, movies, books, songs, visual art on the wall, even jokes, texting, and Facebook. But I never expected to use Terry Mitchell’s doctoral dissertation

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The story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath got me to thinking about scarcity and abundance, and about what is “enough.”

Enough

1 Kings 17:8-24; Psalm 146 

Two sermons emerged for me this week from the passage about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. The first one is inspiring and the second one is troubling. Inspiration first.

There is enough.

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I count many Biblical characters among my friends, and here’s why …

Sophia

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8 (Anglican Chant) 

As I was reading my email the other day, I found a Facebook message asking me to be a friend to Sophia.

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Can you hear a voice in the wind?  On this Pentecost Sunday, let’s reflect a little about wind and the messages it may bring to us ..  And about reclaiming Pentecost as one of our favorite church holidays!

 Voices

Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:14-17 

How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannonballs fly before they’re forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind; the answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Bob Dylan, 1962

It was the first song I learned to play on the guitar,

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                      Carol Rutz-Guest Speaker

Earthquakes as Praise

First UCC Northfield, 16 May 2010

Carol Rutz

Texts for the 7^th Sunday of Easter: Psalm 97 and Acts 16:16-34

I’m here this morning because of hubris. Apparently I said once too often something to the effect that “everyone has ONE sermon in him or her.” That bit of cockiness has caught up with me—and you. I assume you will endure this amateur effort with your customary generosity and good will. And as the deacons scout for additional lay preachers this summer, you may count on me to cheer you on. Meanwhile, here’s my one, single, only sermon. Continue reading Guest Speaker Delivers Powerful Sermon

May 2 was Confirmation Day, and I wanted to present the idea that religion is more an “organism” than an “organization …”

Organized?

Psalm 148; Revelation 21:1-6

On Wednesday I was up at United Seminary for their spring convocation, and at the opening worship service we sang a hymn called “This Is a Day of New Beginnings.” The last line of each verse is “Our God is making all things new.”

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Did you ever wonder why the Bible includes some details and omits so many others?  Like those 153 fish, for example …

 153 Fish

John 21:1-19

The Bible is peppered with details that both puzzle us (why was this particular fact included in the text?), and endear us (how human they were!) When Jesus was on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee, for example, we are told that he had his head on a pillow in the stern.

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