Rev. Zach

Jeremiah 31:1-6 Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10 Those who know me well know that if I were to ever raise live stock I would hope to own a small herd of myotonic goats . These are goats that have been bread especially to highlight a certain genetic trait that otherwise would have been naturally eliminated. That trait is an enzyme which naturally constricts their muscles when they are startled, causing them to fall over. Yes, these are the so-called “fainting goats” who have the unfortunate flight or fight response of falling over. Now, before you get carried away with the idea that I am simply a dark humored person who delights in the misery of a helpless creature, let me say that I am enamored by these creatures because I see myself in them. Fear of conflict is more apt to paralyze me than to motivate me. Fear of the unknown can make me want to hunker down and hope it will all go away. Those things that are beyond my control often make me want to exert more control over the t...

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 July 24, 2011 – Ordinary 17 A Psalm 139 Romans 8:24-28 Matthew 13:44-52 What is it that you treasure? What is it that you cherish? The first things that come to mind for many of us are immaterial things: friendship, love, family. A friend recently posted this statement on facebook, “What if you woke up tomorrow with only what you thanked God for today?” Fortunately for us God is not that transactional, but it does make you think about the value we place on things. Most of us end up with homes filled with things we rarely use or need. Having just moved I can tell you that I suffer from this issue as much or more than anyone. As a culture we place more value on what we have to own than on what we have to share. I don’t mean to say that we are not generous or that we do not share. I simply mean to say that I don’t believe generosity to be a primary motivator for our actions. Now, I want to be very clear that my intention is not to sc...

First Presbyterian Church - Lafayette, Louisiana July 10, 2011 - Ordinary (15A) Genesis 25:19-34 Romans 7:13-25 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Many of you know that I spent some time with my grandmother last weekend as she was, and still is, in hospice care. It was a holy time that I will cherish. During that time I experienced things that I knew to be possible and a few that I never expected to happen. Nothing particularly miraculous happened - unless you consider the miraculous quality of every moment of life. By that I mean the fact that we live and move and exist on this tiny spec of dust called earth that hangs in the vast expanse of the universe. It is a miracle to me that we are breathing, that actions taking place on a subatomic level all around us allow us to blissfully choose to be kind or rude, generous or selfish, grateful or unappreciative. We can even be all of these at once depending on the person or the situation. Tens of thousands of variables effect our deci...