advent 1 word cloud

word cloud of today's Advent 1 sermon to be preached at St. Marks Presby in Altamonte Springs, FL

World Communion Sermon word cloud

I never intended for this blog to be so dominated by word clouds of sermons. But those guys over at wordle.net, who I give credit to, just do the neatest things with my words. Here is my sermon from II Timothy 1:1-9a.



click on the square above to see it larger and at the wordle.net site.

Sermon on prayer and humility from Luke 18:9-13

Here is a word cloud from the good folks at Wordle.net



This is kind-of outline form, I added to this as I walked around the sanctuary and talked about it. Maybe I can adapt the recording for play in a podcast. I liked this one.


sermon on prayer and humility
by Walk Jones
September 19, 2010 based on luke 18:

Let's talk about humility and sportsmanship.

Bobby Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer but exemplified the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. Early in his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Country Club. During the match, his ball ended up in the rough just off the fairway, and as he was setting up to play his shot, his iron caused a slight movement of the ball. He immediately got angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself. The marshals discussed among themselves and questioned some of the gallery whether they had seen Jones's ball move. Their decision was that neither they nor anyone else had witnessed any incident, so the decision was left to Jones. Bobby Jones called the two-stroke penalty on himself, not knowing that he would lose the tournament by one stroke. (quoted from the Wikipedia article on Jones)

When he was praised for his gesture, Jones replied, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank." The USGA's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor.

Nobody gets much reward for being honest.

I hope I don't get in trouble for telling this story. Long ago I saw a sign over a desk in an office: Doing a good job is like wetting your pants in a dark suit. It gives you a warm feeling and nobody notices. Doing a good job.

Jesus told a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray publicly. They were praying in front of everybody. One made a show because he was so good and the other because he was so ... sorry for what he had done.

Parables are goofy.

The Kingdom of God is like a Pearl found buried in a field
Like a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in the wilderness to search for one
An unjust judge
a man who would give his child a snake after he asked for a piece of fish

These are weird and goofy

Both of these men are characteratures; they are extremes, and examples. To be successful charactures we have to be able to recognize them.

Like a stuffy old politician, an anorexic model , Donald Trump with his hair, Rush Limbaugh with his cigar. They are recognizable extremes of themselves. Maybe some of you think president Obama is arrogant. I've heard him described this way. You can think of this pharisee that way.

This guy is really Ned Flanders, Homer Simpson's do-gooder, church-leader, obnoxious neighbor. Doesn't he say, "Hi diddly ho, neighbor." He's a good guy, good parent, and the foil to Homer Simpson's sloppy yard-keeping. HOmer says, "Hey Flanders, can I borrow your lawn-mower?" "Yes, it is in your garage from when you borrowed it last time." In the cartoon world of the Simpsons, they are good parents too.

So let me try to rehabilitate this Pharisee a little bit in our sermon this morning.

Going to the Temple was a good thing. Praying in the first person is very biblical. In Deuteronomy 26 each Hebrew was to go to the temple every 3 years and pray a first person prayer about himself and his God. What God had done for him.

Living a righteous life was admirable (See psalm 1)
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
we don't need to be adulters or thieves or rogues


So, if you are picturing this man as the president or Ned or someone else: he's a good guy. He's Bobby Jones. He's kept the rules.


The sinner here was a real dog. He was a traitor, a tax-collector for the occupying Roman army. He may also have stolen and taken bribes. When you are out of the community and working for the occupiers who knows what else

He has betrayed his country. I would like to think of treason as an ancient crime, but just this week some workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were arrested for trying to sell nuclear secrets to Venezuela. Whether it is John Walker Lynn or other spies selling secretes to The Soviet Union or Israel or wherever.

Recently I've heard both political parties toss around terms like treason and anti-American to describe their opponents. That's not true and its not fair and it is the reason so many of us feel alienated by the political process. This tax-collector was aligned with the Romans, he was stealing for them.

Both these men are publicly praying in the temple. It is only when the praying Pharisee opens one eye and spies around the Temple that he gets in trouble.
"I think you that I'm not like that man" is what he did wrong.

Jesus is talking about humbling ourselves.

The Pharisee’s sin is his arrogance; he hasn't done anything wrong until he looks around and compares himself with other people.

We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.


Where this story is about prayer, it is a positive story. Jesus has constructed a parable where people pray: that's a good thing. It is taken for granted and given that people would pray to God. Honest, deep, faithful prayers.

Like Deuteronomy 26 or Psalm 1 or Psalm 65.

I think we should encourage each other to pray. The one worry I have about our 90 Days of Prayer in this congregation that begins tonight is that it will divide this congregation into two groups: pray-ers and non-pray-ers. I worry (pause, grimice) that half of this congregation will be profoundly changed by this exercise and half of us won't. I worry that some will look around and say, "Thank you Lord, that I'm not like this one." Don’t do that.



As we enter the 90 days of prayer there are at least four things I want you to know:

It can be too late to say you are sorry. Don’t wait to seek forgiveness. Don’t wait to say you are sorry to someone.

It is never too late to say you are sorry, and to do so publicly.
Never too late to join this 90 days of prayer.

God will forgive you

Prayer changes things
Prayer changes Everything.


Remain humble in your new life in Christ. You're still a sinner; you and I still fall short of the glory of God.

Even the great golfer Bobby Jones was a little arrogant in his humility. "You wouldn't praise a man for robbing a bank." No, just tell the truth and don't try to be a comdeian.

Another Sermon Word Cloud

Many Thanks to the guys at Wordle.net! Here is a cloud of today's sermon on prayer. Sorry, but you have to click it to go to the wordle site to see it bigger. (worth it)

a word cloud of Sunday's sermon from Philemon

I think you can click on the picture to open it as a bigger (readable)one from the wordle site. I give credit to them (wordle.net).

Belhar Confession

This fall and winter the presbyteries will debate adding the Belhar Confession from South Africa to our Book of Confessions. A copy of the Belhar can be found here.

You'll have to make one more click from that page to get a pdf file of the confession. I plan to quote it Sunday, Sept 5, 2010.

"Fake Christian Young People"

Sunday I quoted extensively from a piece on CNN online. I don't think there is video of it, but if a reader has a link, please share in in the comments.

The article is "More teens becoming 'fake' Christians" on CNN.com and is found here.

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word cloud of yesterday's sermon

click on the word cloud to be taken to a bigger image on wordle's web site. I give them credit for the program and project.

On Faith

Sunday, Aug 8, I will be preaching on faith.

Brian McLaren had an interesting take on Anne Rice's announcement she is leaving the Christian Church is his own blog. His thoughts are here.

I'm also intrigued by the book Called to be Human by Michael Jinkins, the new president of Louisville Seminary. He has a lot to say about faith and being human as the purpose of Christianity. I will probably quote him Sunday. A like to the book is here. I'm looking forward to getting to know Michael once he moves to Louisville in September and I go to Board meetings with him.

I will add a few more thoughts as Sunday approaches.

vacation

I'm going on vacation July 22-31, so I probably won't blog until August, unless I see something really interesting I want to pass along

Recipe for South African meatloaf - bobotie

Here is the recipe I followed, although there are many on the interwebs.

http://www.ehow.com/how_6640685_make-african-bobotie.html

Anghaarad Teague-Dees' prayer for the Gulf

This is the prayer a group of ministers prayed at Pensacola Beach this week. I encourage you to pray it when you can.


O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number creatures both small and great. As we hear the waves crash against the shore we are reminded of the mighty works of your hand and we humbly ask that you step in with works of restoration.

The fragile balance of the Gulf waters is tainted and yearns for healing. We come to you today with heavy and humbled hearts asking for healing, comfort, strength and wisdom as we face this unfolding tragedy.

We confess that we demand more energy for our homes, autos, farms, and industries
We demand more plastic things that begin from oil; things big and small; things expensive, things ordinary, things cheap. Our demand for more has degraded and destroyed the earth’s bounty. We have taken for granted the beauty and grandeur of this amazing creation. Like Adam and Eve, in our desire to taste the good life, we overstep the boundaries you have placed on your creation. We are sorry.

We seek mercy, we seek vision and we seek the courage we will need as we work to help the victims of the sins of human greed.

We pray for workers injured, missing & presumed dead from the explosion on the rig and for their families and friends.

We pray for the engineers, laborers and individuals working tirelessly to contain the spill & protect the fragile ecosystems and communities from its toxic impacts.

We pray for all who grieve and mourn for this situation. For our children who worry about the impact it will have on their futures. Give us the words of comfort and hope that they seek.

We pray for all of those who live off the sea, the fishermen and women, those who live off tourism, vacationers, and those of us who do not know how to live without the sea. Be with those whose jobs are affected in an already tough economy, May they receive your provision.

What a shame that your creatures should suffer! We pray for the smallest sea creature to the birds of the air. For dolphins and pelicans, grouper and shrimp, algae and scallops…Lord, please protect and heal them. What a shame that your creation should be damaged!

This is wrong, Lord. This will be wrong for a long time to come. Strengthen us to bravely face the days ahead.

We turn to you the Creator whose restoring power is stronger than any human folly.

Eternal God, who brought order out of chaos accept the prayers of your people. Guide and strengthen us by your spirit that we may give ourselves in love & service to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Trinity Sermon word cloud

Word Cloud for Trinity Sunday (Click it to got to a bigger image on their page)
from wordle.com (thanks guys)

New Funeral Policy

Below is the new Northminster funeral policy. 

If anyone knows how to truncate this post and only show the first paragraph, then link to the whole post, please let me know.  I see it done on other blogs, but don't know how to do it here.

Northminster Presbyterian Church

Funeral Guidelines and Policy

These guidelines are written for members to plan their funerals, and to help families of members who have died.  Over the past few decades the church has gotten away from ancient Christian practices.  This policy hopes to bring back time-tested Christian tradition and practice at funerals.  We encourage a pre-planning conversation with the pastor.

At time of death the pastor should be contacted.  Telephone numbers are below.  The pastor may go with the family to the Funeral home, or should be contacted immediately by the Funeral Director to check the church calendar.

Funerals are for the deceased.  This is the time the church gathers and journeys together to burial.  Therefore, whenever possible, the body of the member who has died should be present in the sanctuary for the funeral service.  One picture of the deceased may be placed on an easel or small table in the sanctuary, a large table for pictures and mementos may be placed in the narthex.  Pictures and mementos are never placed on the communion table.  We cannot accommodate video displays.

Visitation may take place before or after the Funeral.  The church’s Congregational Care Committee has a policy that encourages receptions after the funeral.  The casket may be open before and/or during the Funeral service, but normally it is closed for the service.

 There is no charge for services at Northminster, nor is there a fee for the officiant.  The organist or accompanist should be paid a minimum of $75, and $100 if he/she rehearses with a soloist. Soloists or ensembles from the Northminster choir may sing.  The congregation should sing at least one hymn. This is a Christian worship service; the Bible should be read, prayers offered, and words of hope shared. The font, table, and pulpit will always be present. The minister may allow up to two short speeches about the deceased member.

Normally, a funeral pall will be placed on the casket or urn as it enters the sanctuary. The American flag may cover the casket of a veteran. 

Normally the burial rites of clubs and fraternal organizations are conducted at graveside after the minister concludes the burial service.  Rites may also be conducted at the lodge, clubhouse, union hall, etc. Upon request of both the family and fraternal organization, the Session will consider allowing rites to be performed at Northminster after the funeral.  

When there is a question about this policy the pastor and/or Session will clarify it.  If the pastor is unavailable at time of death the Director of Christian Education and Music, Mr. Randolph should be contacted, or the Elder in charge of Congregational Care.

Adopted by Session

May 18, 2010

Pentecost Offering Information

Plan to wear red no Northminster on Pentecost, May 23, 2010. [I may wear a white shirt and RED tie. You get the picture. Red scarves and ties are fine.]

We'll have a guest preacher, Susan Sampson from Thornwell Home and School. We'll receive the Pentecost Offering. 40% of the offering will go to Thornwell. 60% is used for youth leadership training and children's ministry of our denomination.

Remember there is a congregational meeting following the service to talk about pausing sanctuary building process.

Here's a video about the offering.

Letting Go of Instutional Nostalgia

Outgoing Moderator of our General Assembly Bruce Reyes-Chow blogged about changes in the church and challenged us to let go of institutional nostalgia. His blog is here.

I'm not sure I know how to let go of those structures -- although we often disagree with them, they do the biblical work mandated by the Bible.

I was going to repost his whole blog, but think I'll just let you go to the link above. What do you think of that?

Pics of our children's event and Youth Sunday practice

Above, the men of the Brotherhood small group pose with the children after making birdhouses together. Thanks guys!

Here Nancy and some youth practice for the GRACE children's sermon.

notes and sources for April 25 sermon

The Belhar Confession from the PC(USA) web page. Wait, here is a better text of Belhar from the RCA web page.

Wikipedia on the Belhar Confession.

The Uniting Presbyterian Church of South Africa's page.

Mowbray Presbyterian Church's page.

Treasure hunt at church

Many thanks to all who made the picnic and treasure hunt a big success.