Mindful Leader

Season of Pentecost: Ephesians First Rule of Church Leadership

Ephesians 1: 3-14 

Sermon one of seven from Ephesians.  Will introduce a "rule" per week.  

This week:  "Love your congregation where they are."  

 

Season of Pentecost -- If you can't get out of it, Get into it!

The 10:30 version of June 17th Sermon.  The title of "If you can't get out of it, get into it" comes from a Parker Palmer reflection I quote.  Use a couple of mountain climbing illustrations but the big idea is staying anchored in Jesus come good times or more challenging times. The other readings for this Sunday focused on horaculture themes of grafting and I used them a little.   

Season of Pentecost -- You Are the Light of the World!

 

Elder Mary Kavila preached on my behalf this June 10th last.  Her scripture was Matthew 5: 14-16.  As is usual when Mary preaches she brings both gentle understanding and a challenge to the application of the scripture.  

Season of Pentecost -- Graduate Recognition Sunday

 

The Scripture this week was from Old Testament Proverbs, Chapter 7, but the focus was more on the broader topic of faith, family, friends.  Played with idea of those three important words.  The setting was a borderline baccalureate service for Hilltop graduating students and chose to try and focus on how those hearing the words could use them to help be mentors and coaches.  

This Side of Easter: Making a Choice (May 13, 2018)

 

Ephesians 1 -- this is Mother's Day and we look at being a parent as a church.

This Side of Easter: Being Surprised (May 6, 2018)

 

This is Acts 10 where Peter is surprised by what God is calling him to do, set aside almost everything he has previously known.  What is it that we have previously held as true and God has surprised us with what we need to do?  

This Side of Easter: The Name of the Good Shepherd -- April 22, 2018

The text is from Acts 4: 5-12 but we backed up a little to include Acts 4: 1, and annoyance of the Religious Authorities.  

The focus is on Peter and his transformation.  He is done denying Jesus.  

Who are we in this scene?  The status quo?  The change?  The listeners who go with the SQ or change?  The questions are directed individually and corporately.  

Lent Week 1: A Peculiar People, February 18, 2018

Text 1 Peter 3:13-22

Our first Sunday in Lent called us to remember who we are in Christ. We are a peculiar or "chosen" people, marked out by our baptism. This letter is a call to be encouraged, even when we face trials or suffering because of it. Baptism calls us to remember Christ's passion on our behalf. 

Lent Week 2: Abraham, Faith, Covenant and Continuity, February 25, 2018

Text: Romans 4:13-25

On the second Sunday of Lent we examined the biblical story of Abraham. His faith is an example that still calls to us today. From Abraham would come the seed through whom all nations of the world will be blessed. The call and covenant of God with Abraham would have been a story that Jesus would have been familiar with. It is ultimatley a story of God's faithfulness. This faith story provides continuity between the Old and New Testaments. We cannot understand the latter without the former.

Unafraid -- Fear of the Other

 

This was a look at Fear of the Other.  Connect with each other.  Quite a bit of reference back to the music we sang this day.  The reprise I used was a little play off an acronym of FEAR -- Face Everything and Rise with some words from Dr. King on moving from fear to knowing and meeting.

Question is "how often do we let our fear of the stranger drive us to not connect."

Some continuation of the previous week's theme of connectedness, but here the connectedness is getting past the dikes that hold us in our own flood of fear of the other.  Dikes of courage (among other things) are needed (a quote i thought about using, but didn't.)

I am currently listening to Isaac Asimov Robots of Dawn and wonder how much of this might be helpful ... if you are not familiar with the book, do not worry.  If you are, the conversation Daneel and Elijah in Chapter 2 is what I am thinking.  Elijah has to see Robots differently on Aurora than on Earth.  On Earth, they are an object of scorn and subservience.  On Aurora (a fictitious planet) they are near equals, if not precisely equals.  Elijah has to be taught this, as it does not come naturaly to him.  Yes? 

Quotes from Dr. King: 

• "People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other."
• "We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear."

― Martin Luther King Jr.