Rev. Zach

It is so hard to be thankful on a daily basis - especially during the season of Lent.  This is not the season for thankfulness.  It is the season for feeling undeserving, or so it seems at times.  Either way, it is a time to consider the blessings of God that we have received.  Some time ago I remember my sister challenging me to list all the things that I am thankful for.  I couldn't do it.  There was too much.  It is always easier to focus on the things we regret or that we wish were not so. That has been a tough one in the Sasser house today.  We had a great morning celebrating Earth Day at the Lafayette Middle School.  My daughter climbed a 30' inflatable rock wall, made a candle out of bee's wax, and got to touch a preserved shark.  What will she report?  "We didn't get to go canoeing!" As for me, I had some great time with my family today.  I had an opportunity to sit and visit with church elders who are passionate ab...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana April 10, 2011 – Lent 5 (A) Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 The valley of the dry bones is a favorite story of mine.  I can't tell you how or when I first heard the story, but I have always thought of it as an incredible image – these bones becoming people.  Modern special effects in film and media have really made it interesting, perhaps even grotesque, to imagine.  Unfortunately, those same special effects have combined with an over active imagination to produce a vision of a village of undead people, or as some would call them – Zombies! Although I'll take the blame for telling you that I have these thoughts, I don't think it is because I am simply sick and twisted.  Zombies have been around for centuries, and they are found in the literature of almost every culture.  Western civilization, particularly in the last ten years or so, has produced an entire genre of film and literature related to the id...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana April 2, 2001 – Lent (A4) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 "So, how's your ministry going?"  That's what my sister's friend, April, asked me when she found out that I had begun a career in ministry.  I was only 19 at the time and working part time with the youth of the church I grew up in.  April is a Baptist, and I took her question to be rather, well – Baptisty.  By that I mean to say that my cultural bias is that Baptists are more individualized in their expression of Spirituality. I don't remember what I said but I remember thinking, "My ministry?  No. I don't have a ministry.  This is Christ's ministry that I am a part of.  The church has a ministry.  I could never be so bold as to claim that ministry was mine."  The funny thing is, that question has been - and remains - a central question to my understanding of who I am as an ordained minister.  Even more so, ...