Ephesians 3: 1-13

Liturgical material for the service developed by Kerry Greenhill, Sacred Stones.  

1 Kings -- God Speaks in a Small Still Voice, and Galatians 5 -- fruits of the Spirit.  Today the fruit is generosity.  

Luke 12: 22 to 34.  The text is from The Message.  (We had flowers for Eugene Peterson.)  Her sermon title is Enough.  

Amy Gearhart is an Elder in the Missouri Conference and we had her speak at Hilltop on Commitment Sunday.  AKA Consecration Sunday.  Amy explains her new position at the Mountain Sky Conference.  I called her the Transition and Culture Czarina. 

This was our most effective Stewardship campaign in my time at Hilltop, at least in terms of Treasure.  Still work to do in all three of time, talent, and treasure but we are making progress.   

I spoke a little at the start to make some comments on the shootings at the Synagogue in Pittsburgh.  

Pentecost 17:  18.09.23

James 3:13 - 4:8a

Pastor Dennis “Big Idea”: 

I decided to take to the area of which wolf will you feed?  Which wisdom will you honor? Played with the idea of what it means to be "all in".  Sometimes it means you are exhausted or tired.  But other times, it means, I am totally with this.  I am "all" in. No guilt.  No shame.  But at the same time, where are you?  

Revealed this service my financial contribution to the church.  Not for guilt, or shame, but to show Marilyn and I are all in.   

Sunday Four of Five Straight RCL Sundays on James

^3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

^4:1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ² You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures….

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ^8a Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

This is my Christmas Eve reflection.  Bonhoeffer meets Ebenezer Scrooge with a little help from other sources.  

The Reverend Mario Alejandre returning to Hilltop to close out our Stewardship Campaign for 2017.  Mario is a Lutheran who sounds like a Methodist.  Gifted.  Truly.  

Setting the stage for the Stewardship time -- Ministry Moments -- for the Fall.  

Exodus 16: 1-25 -- a quick trip in the wilderness focusing on needs and how God provides.  Points toward John 6 -- Jesus as the Bread of Life.  The Children of Israel sit in the wilderness between already and not-yet, slavery and freedom.  God will provide ... 

Exodus 3 -- Moses is called, and he balks.  I treated this as "Good News, Bad News" but being called by God is actually good news, because God will be with us on this journey.  

From minute 1 to minute 6 is a Ministry Moment on how we are going to do Stewardship this Fall.  Heart talk!  

That minefield that is Mother's Day.  Relationships gone bad, or lost, or never was.  All of those emotions and more.  I focused on nurture.  

Rev. Emily Fleming on John 20: 24-29 and her reflection on Doubting Thomas.  I also included a little of our music after the sermon and before the benediction.