Rev. Zach

2 Samuel 11:1-15     Psalm 14     Ephesians 3:14-21     John 6:1-21 It has been a long week in Lafayette.  Last Thursday, the city that was selected in 2014 as the happiest city in America was shaken and laid bare for the world to see.  John Russell Howser, a man with a deeply grieved soul, shot and killed 33-year-old entrepreneur, Jillian Johnson, and Mayci Breaux, a 21 year old woman beginning to make her way in the world.  Nine others were injured before he took his own life.  Our police, our medical system, even our local news stations acted professionally, compassionately, and faithfully.  As with other similar incidents in our nation, this has sparked conversation, arguments, and accusations between friends and enemies over gun control, mental illness, and the presence of evil in our midst.  I’ve heard it said that the shooter’s name should not be spoken, but instead let us only honor Jillian and Mayci.  There...

Isaiah 9:2-7     Ephesians 2:11-22     Matthew 1:18-23 Have you ever wished that there was a way to keep the Christmas Spirit all year long? I don’t mean all of the rushing around, eating too much, and feeling like something is missing. That stuff you can keep. I mean the sense of wonder, the hope that we truly can be at peace, and the moments of stillness when there is no time left to do the things that have been left undone.  Oh how I wish we could bottle up the way people treat each other with just a little more love and charity during the weeks that lead to the celebration of the birth of Jesus! What would it smell like – fresh baked cookies, pine trees, or maybe just cinnamon? What would it sound like – favorite carols, Handle’s Messiah, or maybe just the story of the nativity of Jesus? Of course there is a reason that we only celebrate Christmas once a year. It is because we need the anticipation of Advent and the revelation of Christmas Eve to ...

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19   Psalm 24     Ephesians 1:3-14     Mark 6:14-29 As a media rich culture we produce and consume vast and untold amounts of magazines, books, music and video.  It seems that we are constantly consuming or communicating about some idea or some opinion about recent events.  Whether you blog, tweet, pin – or even read one of those newspaper thingies – we are involved in constant conversations about the world and its events.  And when we aren’t doing that, some of us love to escape the world in a good book or even a terrible movie. And nothing draws us in like a tragic back-story – you know, the story before the story.  “Years ago you served my father in the clone wars,” said the princess, and we’ve been hooked to one of the most powerful film franchises in the universe for 38 years.  Perhaps it is because a good back-story makes us feel like their story could be our story.  We can believe a character’s ...

2 Corinthians 12:2-10      Mark 6:1-13 The last few weeks in the US have been charged with political energy and excited by social change.  News outlets and social media have exploded with those expressing a resistance to change, and with those who plan to make even greater changes.  It seems to me that flags are more central to these expressions than usual.  Flags of differing stripes have been waived, burned, and even used to advocate competing agendas.  Yet above it all there is a flag for our nation.  No matter what you call it, no matter what you do to it, our Nation’s flag still symbolizes the values that many in this room and many of our loved ones have fought and died for.  I’m sure you know about the significance of the stars and bars, but have you ever wondered why the colors red, white, and blue were chosen?  When Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, explained the significance of the colors in the Gr...

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27     Psalm 130     2 Corinthians 8:7-15     Mark 5:21-43 During the second World War the British government began a campaign to encourage their citizen’s resolve in the war effort. There were a variety of posters with simple messages that all had a drawing of a Tudor era crown above them. The most memorable of them read, “ Keep Calm and Carry On ”. These were all discarded after the war and would’ve been forgotten if a trunkful hadn’t been found, quite by accident, some 40 years later.  At first the phrase was re-introduced as “Keep Calm and Shine On” – a phrase that can mean anything from “be brilliant” to “be deceitful,” depending on which website you trust. Now you can find it on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and bumper stickers with “Keep Calm” followed by anything from “and Carry Guns” to “Presby On.” I’m not too sure about either of those, but given the range of emotion being expressed over current events it seems to me tha...

This sermon was delivered by Leigh Rachal on July 21. Based on Mark 4:35-41 . Life is not fair…. Ever heard that before? This phrase was told to me by various adults throughout my childhood. “But Jenny’s mom is letting her go to the party. It’s not fair that my friends get to go and I have to stay home….”  “Sorry. Life isn’t fair. Get used to it.” My mom didn’t tolerate whining. So I learned to stop whining out loud. But I’ve never truly stopped whining. Because I still find myself whining (silently) to God…. And usually, my whine is: But, It isn’t fair…. For example: Sometimes I whine to God when I hear the news of the day…. “God, it isn’t fair that people were shot and killed while they were faithfully attending a church gathering….” “God, it isn’t fair that people in some places in YOUR world can not walk down their neighborhood streets without worrying about bombs or guns.” And almost daily I whine to God while I’m at work… “God it isn’t fair that some ...