Rev. Zach

Jeremiah 23:1-6   Colossians 1:11-20   Luke 23:33-43 Today is a day we talk about one of John Calvin’s favorite topics. Any guesses what that might be? Yes – the sovereignty of God! Of course, you may know it better as “Christ the King” Sunday or the “Reign of Christ.” The Roman Catholic church actually calls it, “ The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe,” which is fine since they came up with the idea back in 1925 to end the church year celebrating the kingdom which has come and is yet to be revealed. This is also one of those days that Pastors and theologians obsess over because the language is so outdated. Our concept of kings has devolved to despots and figureheads. Lord is really no better when you get down to it since that was a term that was actually lesser than a king. It really just indicated that there were people under you whose lives you controlled. Reign is about the same thing, as it applies to regional governance. I would b...

Jonah 2:1-10     2 Thessalonians 1:1-4     Luke 9:10-17 The election is over, and I want you to know how proud I am of the members of this congregation!  I know that several of you voted early. Many you encouraged others to vote through social media. Some expressed their views about candidates but most just encouraged participation in the Democratic process of an election. At least one of you volunteered your time to be sure that elections were free and fair. None of these actions were small, and now…. now we can get back to criticizing the people we elected.  Seriously, though, the ability to hold our elected officials accountable is a big part of who we are as a people. I see that as nothing less than the grace of God, especially in the current political climate. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that politicians say what they need to say to get elected and rarely do what they’ve promised. Ecclesiastes reminds us that, “There is nothing new under the s...

Genesis 17:1-7 Ephesians 2:1-10 John 4:1-42 Today is part three of a three-part series based on scriptures that reflect on topics from the book, I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer. The first week we talked about being functional members, and not just of this congregation but also of the body of Christ. Last week we talked about the way in which being members of a body requires us to work for greater unity – not uniformity but unity in purpose, unity in love for one another that draws even an enemy into a closer embrace. This week we are going to talk a little about the way that church membership is a gift from God. Yes. I will be so bold as to say that being a member of this congregation is a dispensation of God’s grace. You see, I believe that there is a certain aspect of calling that is a part of joining and being part of a church, and it is God who calls us. When I say joining and being a part of, that means that our calling is not just to join. Our calling is to ...

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Ephesians 4:1-3 John 13:34-35 Today is part two of a three-part series based on scriptures that reflect on topics from the book, I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer. Last week we talked about being functional members. If you weren’t here, then you missed out on your opportunity to participate in a trust fall! It was pretty amazing. John, who just joined two wee ks ago, stood on a box my grandfather made that was labeled “The Promises” so that he could “stand on the promises of Jesus.” One of the volunteers was Liam, one of our children who just recently moved up from the Young Disciple’s class and he took responsibility for the alignment of the group and made sure that John’s head would be protected. John was caught by a good mix of new and older members in both age, gender, and tenure of membership. It was about as perfect an illustration for what it means to be functional members of the church as you could have, thanks be to God. I proba...