Rev. Zach

Sermon Delivered September 23, 2012  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 1 Corinthians 13:1-10;13 John 15:1-4 Sometimes a rope can be your best friend. This was made clear to me one starry night in Alpharetta, GA. I was house sitting over the Summer for a friend whose family owned a polo farm. In the early morning hours I was awakened by the sound of a large animal on the gravel driveway. Having grown up with livestock, I did what seemed the right thing to do. I went and got a halter and led the horse back into the corral. Suddenly I realized in my stupor that I was barefoot, and one misstep of a large herbivore could have been most unfortunate. At that moment I was glad for a threefold chord. Other times I have appreciated the value of a good rope have involved rock climbing. The type of climb determines the rope. A static rope will offer more strength and stability, but if it pulls tight with too much force it can snap. A dynamic rope has more give to it, though it cannot bear as much weigh...

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...

First Presbyterian – Lafayette, Louisiana February 19, 2012 – Transfiguration (B) Baptism of Hayden Elizabeth Albarado 2 Kings 2:1-14 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 9:10-20 Today is an amazing day! It is a day of celebrating covenants - a day celebrating new beginnings and restoration. Today we have baptized one of God’s beloved daughters! Today we have blown the dust off of the baptismal font, poured sacred water, and spoken words of hope in a world of doubt. Today, we have made a bold statement that shines like light in a darkened room. Now some have asked why we baptize infants, and why we don’t immerse. I have actually done a baptism by immersion, so it is not as if we don’t allow it. We just don’t require it. Some time ago, I remember hearing a comedy routine from the Rev. Grady Nutt about an old country baptism in a stream. There was a young preacher who accidentally immersed someone downstream. That man got a chunk of moss up his nose and commenced to form a new church ...