Presby-Musings

This week I'll be concluding the sermon series, "In The Beginning" the Story of Creation. Over the past several weeks we have been thinking together about the implications of our being created by a creative and loving God...  What it means to be created in God's image, to be created to care for the Creation that cares for us...   Today we are going to be journeying into Genesis chapter 3--the chapter where it feels like everything starts to fall apart in the Creation story.   When I was a kid, this part of the story was often referred to as "The Fall," or the moment when "Original Sin" entered into the world.  It's also the part of the story where lots of misguided theologians have done real violence to the Gospel by blaming women, and reading all kinds of things into the text that aren't there.  What I want to focus on, however, is a bit different.  The one thing I want us to hold on to as learn together today is simply this:  ...

Today I'm going to be continuing the sermon series, "In The Beginning" a sermon series from Genesis chapters 1-3, the Story of Creation.   Last week we learned what it means to be created in the image of God, which is how the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Scriptures describes it.   In this, the third installment of this four-part series, we are going to be digging into a fascinating part of this story---the part of the story where God creates humans and then gives them a job.   Let's read Genesis 2:15-20 1 5 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the grou...

This week we are launching a brand new sermon series, entitled "In The Beginning." This four-part series will take us through the first three chapters of Genesis---the story of Creation.   I am going to say something extremely shocking.  You will be blown away by this. Are you ready?   "Lots of Christians have different interpretations and opinions about these first three chapters of the Bible."   Shocking right?  I know.  I'm being sarcastic, of course.  We all know that Genesis chapters 1-3 has become a battleground of sorts when it comes to the debate between Science and Faith in Christian culture.   And here's something else that's important for us to point out.  Some people read these first few chapters of Genesis and then give up on really wanting to know more about the rest of the Bible because they struggle to understand it.   Before we dive into the story of Creation together, however, I want to share some things wi...

I was watching a video a friend of mine had shared on her Facebook page yesterday.  It was a compilation video of children and teens showing kindness and good sportsmanship to one another on the playing field.  In one memorable moment, a high school softball player, who had been paralyzed from an accident, was carried around the bases by members of an opposing team so she could experience one last home run.   My friend commented that she had tears streaming down her face when she watched the video.  I have to admit, I, too, felt a knot in my own throat as I watched.  I got to thinking about all of the similar "feel-good" videos I've been seeing lately on other friends' Facebook pages---quite a lot of them actually.   I've often wondered about the popularity of these videos.  What makes us watch them, share them and cry over them?   In the book of Genesis, the Creation account declares that God created humankind (both male and female) in...

Author Seth Godin has written extensively about the joy of doing good work.  He recalled a time when he was on vacation, and had spent a wonderful day at a resort in Jamaica with his family.    That evening after everyone had settled down for the night, he went to the hotel lobby where there was a computer hooked up to internet.  He settled in and was happily answering emails and doing a bit of work.  A couple walked by then and he heard the man say, "Look at that poor guy, working on his vacation."   Godin remembers thinking, "Poor guy?"  He enjoyed his work, and was happy to be doing it.  He thought about how he'd spent a wonderful day relaxing and decompressing, spending time with his family, and how much joy it brought him.   He also thought about how much joy he got from working, and considered himself blessed that both aspects of his life were joyful and life-giving.   I like to work.  I'm one of those people who wi...

This week I'm going to be continuing the sermon series that I started at the beginning of January--a sermon series entitled "In The Beginning ."  It's the beginning of a new year, with new possibilities, and this should give us a tremendous sense of hope. But sometimes at the outset of a new year we find ourselves torn between our longing to be better people and the reality that most of our efforts fall short.  In the end, we tell ourselves, we won't keep that new year's resolution .  We'll mostly do what we always do, and things will mostly be what they've mostly been. Still, there is a longing deep inside each of us that we can't shake--a longing for a world where the same old same old doesn't really exist.  We long to be better people, for sure.  We want to be thinner, smarter, more efficient, better-connected, more patient, grace-filled, full of energy, you name it.  We want to be better husbands, wives, children, sons, daughters, ch...