Mindful Leader

Forgotten Women of the Bible -- Abigail

1 Samuel 25 -- and we look at Abigail.  Three main characters:  David, Nabal, and Abigail.  One shows true hospitality.  The others are more "meh" in their roles.  

Creeds -- Week 2

The Sunday after the shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Dallas.  Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 (read by liturgist) and 1 Corinthians 8: 1-6.  Yes, I revised the sermon after the events of last week.  

We are speaking to the Nicene Creed -- and this is the passage on God.  

Creeds -- Week 1

A first look at creeds.  This will be a fie week series on Creeds.  There will be a focus on both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed.  This week is focused on why they are of import to us.  It clearly uses July 4th as an illustration for why creeds are of value.  

The main function of this week is to set the stage for the following four weeks.  

Advent 3: Choose Joy

Ezra 3: 1-4, 10-13 is the text and again, I am indebted to the assistance I receive from Working Preacher/Narrative Lectionary.  Excellent help.  Rebuild the temple and some, who remember what the old temple was like, cannot be joyful.  I then contrast those Eeyores with Simeon in Luke 2 where he is able to see the possibility of the future.  

Advent 1 -- Putting Scripture Front and Center

Text is from 2 Kings and Josiah's finding of the scripture.  Most of the "exegesis" (reading out) is during the reading itself.  Sermon contains elements of restatements from July ("Why") and earlier in November (David moving Ark to the center of political authority).  

Using suggested scriptures from Luther Seminary -- Narrative Lectionary.  

Who Picked This Scripture ? God Did!

Thanksgiving week and the Narrative Lectionary gave me Isaiah 5: 1-7 and Isaiah 11: 1-9.  I think the key to this reflection is the Henri Nouwen in the middle.  It is the bridge ... but it is also the fact that this is week 52 of the church year (as it relates to the calendar).  This is Christ the King Sunday.  

The title comes from how I open the sermon -- a scene of death and brokenness and devastation and then we have to preach on Thanksgiving?  Huh?  

But to return to the Nouwen ... we are who we are as a result of the lives we have lived.  We need to get away from this idea of selecting this and rejecting that.  All of it is makes us who we are ... 

David puts God at the Center

The Narrative Lectionary presents one good chance during the year to speak about David.  Where do you go?  I focused here on both 1 Samuel 16 where David is picked out by Samuel and here where it is the end of the Civil War.  No Civil War is particularly Civil but there is a lot going on here.  My big idea was to focus a little on how all of us are invited to move God to the center of our lives and accept God's anointment.  And frankly, set aside the civil wars of the past.  

Elijah confronts Ahab

An extended passage out of 1st Kings 18 where Elijah dukes it out with the Baal Priests.  I only read the second half on the podcast with the first half being read by the liturgist of the day and not included here.   

I think the question is obviously associated with the idea of false gods and if we give them power.  Too often I would think we do.  Jesus observes in Matthew 6: 24 that we cannot serve two masters.  

I do tie back to Hilltop and where we are trying to go in 2016 and what God we are trying to serve.  

This is from the 9:00 service.  

Then, Why the Wesleyan Understanding of "Church"?

The two readings were from Genesis and Hebrews -- with an attempt to focus on the idea of Grace.  This was not a particularly scripturally based exposition of God's word.  A little history and a lot of Wesleyan Theology.  

Second, why the church?

 Sermon is a conversation among the elements of last week (First, Why God?), Hosea 2: 16-20 with an emphasis on the last two of those verses, and Hebrews 10: 19-25 with a little other scripture thrown in for good measure.