Rev. Zach

Sermon Delivered Sunday, March 25, 2012 Jeremiah 31:31-34 Hebrews 5:5-10 John 12:20-33 Everything is about social networking these days. Yoono you can Yelp a Tweet to your Facebook page about a place you found out about through FourSquare , but be sure to tell everyone about the deal you got through Groupon (which may or may not be as good as the one you found through LivingSocial ). Now, chances are that many of you sitting in the pews have no idea what I am talking about; however, most of the folks that read my blog (yes, both of you) know exactly what I am talking about. In fact most savvy social networkers (a term itself that is becoming passé) would roll their eyes as though I have just proclaimed 2+2 to be a complex equation! Even though Betty White rightfully proclaimed on Saturday Night Live (in one of the funniest opening monologues EVER) that these social networks (particularly Facebook - where the campaign to have her on was started) are a colos...

First Presbyterian – Lafayette, Louisiana March 11, 2012 – Lent (3B) Exodus 20:1-20 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 John 2:13-25 Have you ever noticed that there are certain words and phrases that mean different things over the years? Take the phrase “selling out” for example. A generation or so ago it referred to scarcity, and - depending whether you benefited from it or not - it could be good or bad. Either way, things used to be less disposable, and because of that you either worked harder to maintain what you had or you figured out how to do without. Many people still live that way, but most of us act as though there is no end to the supply. To some extent that is true. Globalization has provided many opportunities, not the least of which being the idea that labor or products can always be found cheaper somewhere - except when it can’t. The truth is that no one’s hands are clean in the chain of supply and demand, and the best we can do is to become as aware as possible of th...

First Presbyterian – Lafayette, Louisiana March 3 , 2012 – Lent (2B) Genesis 17:1-7:15-16 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38 Some of you are aware of my not-so secret habit of writing sermons and doing research in one or more of the coffee shops around town. I’ve even been so bold as to claim one of them as an “adjunct office.” There are many reasons I can give to justify this habit. The simplest is the fact that I am too easily distracted by the myriad of possibilities and assumed responsibilities of the office or of my home. The distractions of the coffee shop are far less important to me, though no less appealing. The parallels between the coffee shop and the church often fascinated me. Sometimes the coffee shop seems equally sacred. Usually I observe others as a fly on a wall while I read commentaries and make notes. Sometimes I meet with colleagues to discuss the lectionary, discuss the work of the church, and hold one another accountable. Sometimes a complete stranger will share so...