John 10:11-18 April 29, 2012 A Forever Friend “I know my own and my own know me.” This powerful line spoken by Jesus in John’s gospel reassures us that Jesus knew our most basic human need: to belong to someone who knows us and loves us. We cannot make meaning out of life if [...]
Luke 24 26-48 April 22, 2012 “One Square Foot at a Time”, Preached by Pastor Kim Blocher at Zion UCC Arendtsville PA How do we declare the Risen Presence of Christ when the evidence for transformation in the world looks pretty scanty? Easter comes and goes, we shout Alleluia He is Risen, and then [...]
“Unity as a Resurrection Practice” Psalm 133, Acts 4:32-35 April 15, 2012 Christ has died, Christ is risen, and now we are waiting for Christ to come again. That pretty much sums up where we are a week after Easter. A new community has been formed, and that new community has to decide how [...]
Isaiah 50: 4-9a Passion Sunday, April 1 2012 As I reviewed the four passages for this Sunday, and casted about for a meaningful way into Holy Week, my eyes just stopped on this snippet from Isaiah. Eugene Peterson in The Message, translates Isaiah 50:4 in this way: “The Master, God, has given me a well-taught [...]
John 12: 20-33 “I Will Draw All People to Myself”, preached on March 25, 2012 at Zion UCC Arendtsville Americans love figures of speech having to do with sports. These expressions populate our speech. For instance, an unsuccessful effort might be characterized as “he struck out.” Or, of a risky, last ditch sort of decision [...]
Mark 8:31-38 (Lent Two) March 4, 2012 “Beyond the Bend” Back in the day, I recall learning poetry in elementary school. The two that stand out in my mind are Trees by Joyce Kilmer, and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. That was back when we memorized poetry and did recitations. I was one [...]
Transfiguration Sunday: Mark 9: 2-9 (and Psalm 50: 1-6) “Out of Zion, God Shines Forth” Feb. 19, 2012 I have always had an abiding interest in Scotland, and all things Celtic. Years ago I had the opportunity to visit Scotland. I loved everything about it, but was especially taken by the standing stones that appear [...]
Mark 1 40-45 Religion and Healing Series (part three): All our Grief to Bear Feb 12, 2012, Preached at Zion UCC Arendtsville PA For the last 3 weeks, our scripture passages have been about healing. In fact, we’re not even out of the first chapter of Mark yet, and we’ve been reading about one healing [...]
Mark 1 29-39 (Religion and Health series-part two) 2/5/2012 I have a friend who built a very successful business from which he is now retired. He’s written a book about his experience. One of the points he makes is that being frugal really gave him a competitive edge in business. He relates an interesting anecdote [...]
Mark 1:21-28, message preached on Jan. 29, 2012 at Zion UCC Arendtsville Jesus Speaks the Language of Health Gospel is a word we use a lot, and seldom think about. The word “gospel” can be loosely translated as good news. Wikipedia tells us that the word “Gospel” is derived from Anglo Saxon word “Gódspell” (ca [...]