And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11 This year during Advent, we will look together at  Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future . Many of you will remember the beloved tale by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, in which the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a miserly and bitter

1 Corinthians 4:1   This is Stewardship Sunday, you are deciding what your financial gift to the Church is for the next year. And clearly, this is a part of what Stewardship Sunday is about. But this morning, I hope we will all discover that it's something much more profound, important to your faith, to Brick's mission, and the call of Jesus. Stewardship obviously comes from the word steward. For a moment, let's erase the word stewardship from our minds. And imagine that we h

John 13:34–35 ​Near the end of the Last Supper, after Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, he tells them, “ Love one another as I have loved you .” The Greek word here,  allelon , means “one-anothering.” This word appears over a hundred times in the New Testament. Jesus tells us to: Wash one another’s feet. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Do not judge one another. Be at peace with one another. Build up one another. Be devoted to one another. All this is to be done in the

John 13:1-9 ​Jesus is facing the most difficult time of His life. The religious authorities have not only rejected His interpretation of the Scriptures but have viewed Him as a fundamental threat to their power. The people have seen His miracles, but John tells us they did not believe Him, and even the ones that did refused to profess it openly for fear of retribution.  He knows not only will one of His disciples betray Him, but the others will scatter, and His most trusted d

I Peter 2:1-10 ​We are a holy priesthood, Peter tells us. An extremely lofty honorific which we are sure does not fit us. In fact, I imagine we simply dismiss this statement out of hand. Peter is wrong. There is nothing especially holy about any of us compared to anyone else in this world, and certainly you and I are not performing priestly, cultic duties.  Mesopotamian ancient priests would sacrifice a sheep and take a close look at its liver to reveal God’s will. The oracle

Revelation 4:1-11 ​During seminary, Wendy and I spent one summer in Tupper Lake, New York, where I served as an intern at a country...

“Worship the Lord with gladness” - Psalm 100:2a The  Book of Order  tells us that Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise, honor,...

Isaiah 6:1-8 W 1.1001 Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and power to the Triune God.   Christian worship...

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so...