Rev. Zach

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to visit family and celebrate the holidays.  While away, I asked Leigh Peterson, church member and Director of C.U.P.S., to preach.  I'm sharing her sermon with her permission, though she insisted I share a knock knock joke first. Knock, knock! Who's there? Interrupting Wise Men. Interrupting Wis... (interrupting) RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! Herod's going to kill you, and your little baby, too! Now back to the theological reflection you have come to appreciate: Sermon by Leigh Petersen on 12/26/10 at First Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, LA Whew…. We made it… We have come a far ways…. In just a few weeks, there has been so much preparation…. Hustling and bustling…. And so now, we’ve finally made it…. To Christmas…. And I don’t know about you, but I have no energy left. I’m tired. And then I read the Gospel account of Jesus’ birth and thought – well…. Maybe it could be worse….. That 1st Christmas must have been exhausti...

First Presbyterian – Lafayette, Louisiana December 19, 2010 – Advent A4 Isaiah 7:10-16 Psalm 80:1-2,7 (sung with cantor) Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 As we begin the last sermon in this series, let’s remember where we have been before moving forward. So far we have considered the challenge to “Worship Fully” – to become aware of God’s presence in our private and public lives and respond to it with our decisions and actions. Next was the challenge to “Spend Less” on things that do not matter and to give gifts that impact individual lives and communities. And last Sunday we were challenged to “Give More” by taking the time to be with others and understanding all relationships as the sacred ground where Christ enters in. I have suggested that the reality of Advent should change the world, and I am hopeful that your world has been changed in some small way by this season of preparation. In fact, I would even say that if you do not allow God to change your world in some way, you ...

These words are for anyone who is having a tough time this Christmas because they have lost a loved one. It could be a recent loss or one from years past. My hope is that these words of scripture with my thoughts added to them will meet someone in their place of need. May the peace of Christ be with you. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 A candle in the window has long been a symbol of hope. It lets us know that someone is home, waiting up for us. Inside there is warmth, shelter, and sanctuary. A candle in the window is a symbol of hope from the inside out as well. It is a beacon offering a siren call to the one we miss who is too long away and never forgotten. We light candles now, even though we do not have to. There is something about the limited glow, the warm feeling, and the wisp of smoke that signals a departure that connects with us deep inside. We light candles in community, or in the longing for, or anticipation of, someone coming to enjoy the glow with us. Yet sometime...

First Presbyterian in Lafayette, Louisiana December 12, 2010 – Advent A 3 Isaiah 35:1-10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 Once again I come before you with the need to report on the activities of the Advent Conspiracy that is going on in this congregation and in others throughout the world.   By now you have probably figured out that there is nothing particularly new about the idea that Advent can be a subversive force of change in the world.   I have to admit that, for most of you, I don’t know if that is a new thought to you.   I don’t know if it bothers you.   I don’t know to what extent you have decided to join this conspiracy, or even if you believe that the church should be an instrument of social change. It’s not because of anything you have or have not done.   It is because I simply have not asked.   That is, I have not asked until now.   I have not asked because I have been too busy with the “busy-ness” of the church.   I have not asked be...