| Genesis 1:1... by Don Neuendorf |
Wow... this could be a whole huge discussion of creation versus evolution. We could go over some of the questions people have raised about "how" God created, the differences between the accounts in chapter 1 and chapter 2. There are layers of symbolical connections in the order of the 6 days and meaning in the existence of the Garden.
But it feels like we've discussed all this stuff 100 times. And that's a dilemma for me. Is it just me that has talked this to death, and you still have lots of questions? (After all, I've talked this through with umpteen different Bible classes in 3 congregations, but you might not have been there.) What do we really need to talk about here?... |
| John 7:37-39 Pentecost by Don Neuendorf |
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit...
The imagery we normally use for the Holy Spirit is a dove or a flame - things we think of as external to ourselves. But here Jesus' metaphor is very internal, streams of living water that flow from us. I wonder if this is what he meant when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, "If you knew who it was who asked you... he would have given you living water."
Here is the result of our faith, not just that we are changed or blessed or saved, or even just that the Holy Spirit inhabits us as a temple, but that God's blessing to us overflows and constantly flows outward in a cleansing stream to the world around us. I pray you can see that gift in your life today. |
| Acts 2 AGAIN - Pentecost by Don Neuendorf |
OK, so here we are again. We read a part of this story a few weeks ago, the sermon that Peter preached on Pentecost. Now the reading includes the sound of rushing wind, the tongues of flame, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of languages.
Does this add anything?... |
| Numbers 11:24-30 Pentecost by Don Neuendorf |
Context. We really don't get what's going on till we look at the context. Consider the Pentecost OT lesson. It would be easy to focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit comes upon the 70 elders (not just on the appointed spiritual leaders - the priests, or Moses and Joshua), and that this is not in competition with Moses.
Taken out of context, I've heard some people try to use this as a justification for not requiring ordination in order to preach or conduct other distinctive tasks of spiritual leadership. That's not the point.... |
| John 17:1-11 Easter 7 by Don Neuendorf |
Jesus said, "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them..."
That about sums it up, doesn't it? Jesus ascended to heaven. He's no longer in the world in the same way. But here we are.
Stuck.
How do you feel about that?... |
| Acts 1:1-11 Ascension Day by Don Neuendorf |
This year we'll be moving the Ascension Day texts over to the following Sunday. Ascension Thursday services have gotten smaller and smaller over the years. Why is that?
Why does the Ascension of Jesus seem less important, perhaps less relevant than Christmas or Easter or even Pentecost?... |
| Is this the verse for St. Paul? by Don Neuendorf |
I'm back after a week of vacation - during which I had hoped to be able to keep blogging, but our hotel internet was broken. So... I hope some of you are still checking in now and then. And I pray that I can now get back to a regular blogging routine.
Acts 17:16-31 is the first reading for this coming Sunday. I'll be preaching on it - but it's a bit difficult for me. It's not a hard text, but it seems to offer the members of St. Paul a unique challenge. Do these verses portray the ministry to which God has called us at this time and place?... |
| Acts 6:1-9ff Easter 5a by Don Neuendorf |
(Argh! Wrote this once and lost all my work. We'll see if I can do it as well again.)
This bit of church history has always interested me. The early church was growing faster than they could handle it, a problem we would love to have. And the disciples make a remarkable statement... |
| Acts 2 Easter 3 & 4 - Preemptive Pentecost by Don Neuendorf |
On April 6 and 13 the first lesson is drawn from the 2nd chapter of Acts, the events of Pentecost, Peter's sermon and its response. I confess to being a bit puzzled, wondering why this lesson appears in the first few Sundays after Easter instead of waiting until after Pentecost. In the first selection Peter confronts the crowd with their guilt in Jesus' death and the promise of forgiveness, and 3.000 come to faith. In the 2nd selection we see the response of these new believers who devote themselves to learning and growing in faith together.
I have often said, "One sermon won't turn everything around."... |
| Luke 24:13-35 Easter 3 by Don Neuendorf |
It's hard to keep our timeframe straight in the Sundays after Easter. This Sunday's Gospel lesson takes place still on Easter Sunday itself. Although we are 2 full weeks after Easter, these 2 disciples on their way to Emmaus are only a few hours from the first news of the resurrection. For us the Easter decorations are all put away and we're starting to shift our thoughts to summer vacation plans. But as these 2 men walked they were still very much overcome by Good Friday... |