June 29, 2014 Genesis 22:1-14 Psalm 13 Jeremiah 28:5-9 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 This week’s stories are all challenging. We need to take exception to the story of Abraham and Isaac to be faithful to the God of grace. Following Christ is ultimately about a life-giving lifestyle, not violence or fear. To be honest, I…
John 20:19-23 Acts 2:1-12 The back to back celebrations of Ascension and Pentecost surely give us something to think about. Incomprehensible to “moderns,” there is a chance that postmodern pluralists might get the wild message of clouds, wind, and fire. But, it won’t be easy, especially if we demand to have worship and church as…
As the pastor of a mid-sized congregation, South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, on Cape Cod, I am as perplexed as most of my colleagues about how to reach out to twenty and thirty-year-olds in our community. With the exception of the children of long-time members or persons planning to get married at our…
A Response to Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus, by Christopher Smith and John Pattison In a recent conversation, a young adult noted, “I’m not interested in going to the big church down the road, with its band and big screen. It’s just like the mall. When I go to church, I…