Sermons

Jonah 3: 10 -- 4: 11 & Matthew 20: 1-16 * Roger C. Lynn * September 25, 2005

- Click To Listen In MP3 Audio -

God has a serious attitude problem! It’s been going on for a long time now, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. For some reason which seems difficult for us to fathom, God simply refuses to cooperate in acting the way we think God should act. Time and time again we have a very clear understanding of what God should do in some particular circumstance or another. And time and time again God chooses to defy us -- challenging our best wisdom and acting in ways which fly in the face of accepted cultural norms.

OK, so my tongue may have been located firmly in my cheek! And yet, I suspect many of you found yourselves resonating with the sentiment. Faith is often an experience of growth because it challenges us to rethink our understanding of God, the world and even ourselves. What does it mean when we open ourselves to the possibility of God beyond our boxes?
» read more

Genesis 50: 15-21 & Romans 14: 1-6 * Roger C. Lynn * September 11, 2005

- Click To Listen In MP3 Audio -

We live in a world which is largely organized around the idea of retributive justice. One description of this which I recently found puts it this way, “Retributive Justice is a matter of giving people their just deserts. The central idea is that the offender has gained unfair advantages through his or her behavior, and that punishment will set this imbalance straight.” Collectively as a society we seem to spend much of our time, energy and resources trying to relate to the world in terms of “us and them,” “friends and enemies,” protecting ourselves and paying back those whom we perceive to have harmed us or those we care about. “It’s a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world out there.” The examples of such thinking are far too prevalent to list. It is, I believe, so common as to be invisible. We don’t even think about it. “Of course that’s the way we view the world. What other way is there?” Unfortunately, I do not believe this way of understanding the world has served us very well.
» read more

Romans 13: 8-14 * Roger C. Lynn * September 4, 2005

- Click To Listen In MP3 Audio -

“It’s time for a wake up call,” Paul says to the church in Rome. Complacency does not serve us well. Our attention wanders and we end up focusing on things that distract us from our truest and highest calling. Remember what it really means to be human. Remember the truth you find revealed in your faith. It’s about love. It’s about community. It’s about relationships. “Owe no one anything, except to love one another!” That’s Paul’s advice to the Romans. Don’t get caught up in thinking it’s all about following “the rules.” Wake up and pay attention to the reality of God’s presence in the very midst of us. And when you do that, I’m betting you will see what I see -- that it’s all about caring for each other. I am absolutely convinced that is one of the primary ways in which God’s presence is realized in our lives.

So a week ago we had a wake up call. It came crashing ashore with 150 mph winds and flood waters that filled a whole city. Please do not hear me saying that God somehow “sent” Katrina slamming into the Gulf Coast. Such thinking puts us a very slippery slope in a hurry and I do not intend to go there.
» read more