Sermons and other Reflections
You see, Elijah thought he was finished. He was no longer the person he once was. But God sustained him long enough to bring him in to his presence, and then to give him a whole new commission. He’s no longer fighting kings, no. That life is behind him permanently. Now he’s called to anointing new ones .He has a new vocation. Because God isn’t finished with him yet. Because when one chapter in our lives ends, God always has more in store.
Read MoreYahweh’s blaze of fire was impressive, for sure. But that’s not the real miracle. The real miracle here comes after. The real miracle is the end of the drought. After the fall of the prophets of Ba’al, Elijah confronts the king again. This time, it’s not with judgment. But with good news. With grace.
Read MoreAnd, despite the differences between us in time and space, I believe the community-creating Spirit of God is very much at work drawing us together today. Mysteriously, relentlessly. Past boundaries we once thought were impenetrable. And drawing us in to a story greater than ourselves. Even in a disconnected world like ours. Maybe perhaps especially in a disconnected world like ours.
Read MoreWhen we are tempted to focus our lives on the future, to keep our eyes fixed on the clouds, Christ and his heavenly messengers always drag our eyes back down to earth. To focus our eyes to the world in front of us, so we can watch and for God’s Spirit through all the earth. That same Spirit that empowers us to be witnesses, so people can begin to see that Christ is not somewhere off in the clouds, but he is alive in us.
Read MoreThis Friday was a unique day on the secular calendar. April 22, Earth day, every year since 1970. A day marked around the globe as a day of celebration of, and action in defense of, the Earth and its environment. We don’t usually bring in celebrations from outside the church calendar in worship. One of the reasons for that is that we are trying to live in a counter-cultural story. So we’re trying to get rooted first and foremost in the Way of Jesus as a way of looking at the world. But today I think it’s worth making the connection.
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