God is Good and Loving and... Out to Do Us Good

What are you suppose to do when you believe with all of your heart
that God is good and loving and... out to get you.

Sunday, July 27th, a.d. 2014

RCL, Year A, Proper 12, Track 2

Genesis 25:19–34

Psalm 119:105–112

Romans 8:1–11

Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23

God is Good, and Loving, and Out to Get Me!

Good Morning. I am really glad to be here, worshipping with all of you today. This past week, as I was making preparations to be here. I was in contact with Mtr. Laurie. And she mentioned that she has been preaching on the theme, “Be Fabulous for the Kingdom.” As I thought about the theme, I was really drawn to today’s reading from Romans, and I thought: It’s really hard to be fabulous for the kingdom when you think that God is out to get you.

Be Careful What You Pray For

When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I got one of those nasty colds that settles in your eyes. You know what I’m talking about. The kind of cold where your vision is blurred, and you keep blinking your eyes, hoping they’ll clear up but to no avail. I was miserable, and I remember praying, “Dear God, can you please take away this eye cold. You can give me a regular cold instead, but please, O please, just clear up my eyes.” Well, you can probably guess what happened. Within in a few days time, I was sneezing and coughing AND blinking. I now had a cold in my chest AND in my eyes.

This all happened right before Christmas. I know this because I remember going to church for midnight mass. I was an acolyte, and I was vesting in the sacristy, and I told my priest about my prayer and what had become of it. Fr. John just laughed and said, “Yeah, you’ve got to be careful about what you pray for.” That confirmed my suspicions. I was convinced. God was good and loving… and out to get me.

Set Free — Set Free from Judgment, Set Free for Life

What would a life without judgment be like?

“There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

RCL •  Year A • Proper 10 • Track 1 • July 13th, a.d. 2014

Genesis 25:19–34 • Psalm 119:105–112 • Romans 8:1–11 • Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23

Sermon available on YouTube by clicking HERE.
and as a PDF by clicking HERE.

Come, Holy Spirit,
and kindle the fire that is in us.
Take our lips and speak through them.

Take our hearts and see through them.

Take our souls and set them on fire.  Amen.

“SO WOULD I!”

Earlier this week I was talking to Rebekah, and she asked me, “What are you going to be preaching on this Sunday?” I said, “Well, I think I am going to focus on Romans 8 and what it means to ‘live according to the Spirit.’” And she said, “Oh, I would love to know how to do that.” And I said, “So would I… So would I.”

So what does it mean to live according to the Spirit, to walk according to the Spirit, to set our minds on the things of the Spirit?

The Exercise Bike

Let me begin with a story that I hope relates. On Monday, we sold my exercise bike on Craig’s list. We were asking $25, but we received $26, because the man who bought the bike paid us with 13 two-dollar bills. Well, that’s not really relevant to the story, it’s just a bit interesting. Anyway, on Monday, we sold my exercise bike which ended a brief, uneventful chapter in my life.