Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

This is the final sermon in the series, "Team Jesus."  During Lent, we'll be looking at Holy Communion, it's meaning and the part it plays as a spiritual practice. Matthew 17:1-9 A player's perspective may be limited.  He or she may see only to the end of the game or the end of the season, striving to win that title or trophy.  A coach's perspective goes farther than that.  Coaches take the long view.  Their goal is to build a program that will result in winning teams year, after year, like what Hayden Frye did at the University of Iowa. From God's vantage point overlooking time from its beginning to its end and beyond, God takes the really, really, really long view with a thousand years being like one day to God.   And to understand our part of God's game plan, we need to learn to see things from a new perspective, from God's perspective. What I need in my office is one of those big wall calendars that shows a year at a glance so I can ...

Mark 8:31-38 I Corinthians 9:19-27 For God so loved ... So loved us, a flawed and disobedient people, That He sent to us His only Son, Unique, like nothing ever seen before or since, Christ, God who put our humanity, Was offered up as a sacrifice For us. For Christ, God incarnate who pitched his tent among us,  So loved us .. Christ, valuing our salvation  And the redemption of all creation Over the the glory of his Godness Came in the guise of a servant -- No, lower than a servant, a slave, Being Obedient even to the giving of his life, He sacrificed himself upon a cross. For us. It seems to me that sacrifice has more to do with love than with anything else. Jesus took one for the "team,"  for us, for all people, everywhere.  So, how do we respond to such love? See the player in the middle of the picture?  I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but, man, that has got to hurt!! It looks to me like a classic ex...

Luke 19:1-10 Ephesians 2:1-9 Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, calls you and informs you that you have been chosen for the team.  You don't have to try out; you don't even have to have any athletic abilities.  It's a done deal.  All you have to say is yes. The door bell rings.  As the UPS truck pulls away, you find a treasure chest on your door step.  The attached note says you are the recipient of the most precious treasure known to humankind.  It's tax-free, with no strings attached.  You haven't earned it, but it's yours forever.  All you have to do is open it. Such is the mystery of God's love in action in the lives of people everywhere.  The thing about Team Jesus and the blessings it brings is that we can all make the team! Is a "fair catch" a quarterback who isn't currently in a committed relationship? Is a "nickle defense" a poorly paid lineman? Oh, I do know this one.  A "sack" is...

(First of a four-part series that "kicks off" on Super Bowl Sunday) Romans 8:31-39 Nehemiah 8:9-10 Give me a "J" -- J! Give me a "E" -- E! Give me an "S" -- S! Give me a "U" -- U! Give me an "S" --  S! Who do we got?   JESUS! What do we got? JOY! Cheer leading pom poms make me smile with memories of Pep rallies and Friday night football games; Cheerleaders and team mascots; The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That's the way life goes.  There are winners and losers; the ones who come home with a trophy and a title and those who come home empty-handed. There are the conquerors and the vanquished. In the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we read the story of the return from captivity of the Jews.  When they returned to their homeland as a vanquished people still under the rule of the Persian Empire with permission of the King of Persia to rebuild the temple of God and foun...

Galatians 2:8-17 Acts 8:26-38 The goal of this sermon series, Re-Setting Our Priorities, is to help us make sure we put importance on those relationships that give us life, joy, purpose and meaning. We have talked about our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves through self care and our relationship with our families. Today, we're looking at our missional relationships. What does missional mean? Missional is the way our actions, our beliefs and even our relationships reflect and are directed by God's imperative to go and make disciples for Jesus Christ and Christ's ministry of proclaiming the good news, curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers and casting out demons, as discerned through our current context. We usually think that those kinds of relationships are usually limited to ministries in and through the church. I believe that God gives us endless opportunities to develop those kinds of relationships in all parts ...