Rev. Zach

Proverbs 9:1-6      Ephesians 5:15-20      John 6:51-58 Today we are on part three of four-part series on gratitude which is based on reflections on the lectionary in conversation with the book, Gratitude – The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks , by Diana Butler Bass. As a reminder of where we have been, we started out talking about the feeling of gratitude and the way it is a natural response to God’s grace. God has freely given to us, and when we recognize God’s gifts of providence and forgiveness and powerful sustaining presence, we feel grateful. Last Sunday we talked about what to do about that feeling. We talked about the way in which gratitude can help us see more clearly and love more dearly and even order the pattern of our days. Today, we are going to talk about a more collective response to God’s grace. Today we are going to have a bit of a fête in worship, if you don’t mind. Maybe we’ll even have a bit of a ruck...

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33      Ephesians 4:25-5:2      John 6:35, 41-51 A few weeks ago I began a four-part series on gratitude based on reflections on the lectionary in conversation with the book, Gratitude – The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks , by Diana Butler Bass. You may or may not remember that I’m calling this series “Gratefully Alive,” and yes, the pun is intended . It may or may not have been a good idea to interrupt that series with a guest preacher last week, but I think we all enjoyed learning more about our Living Waters project in Cuba. Since our readings repeatedly remind us that Jesus is the bread of life this month, it certainly didn’t hurt to hear that he is the living water for the world – then and now. In case you are like me and you find that a few nights’ sleep may challenge your immediate recall of the past, I’ll remind you where we left off. We started out talking about the connection between grace a...

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a       Ephesians 4:1-16       John 6:24-35   This week begins a four-part series on gratitude that will offer reflections on the lectionary in conversation with the book,  Gratitude  –  The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks , by Diana Butler Bass. I ’ m calling this series  “ Gratefully Alive, ”  and yes  –  it is a play on words from  The Grateful Dead.   You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I flippantly contrasted the book  Gratitude  with the band named  The Grateful Dead.  Later that week I was given a soundboard recording from one of their live shows, which only confirms my calling to this ministry even further. Thank you. You know who you are.   Anyway, I think that contrasting these two is a good place to start.  The Grateful Dead  got their name from the genre of folklore that involve...