Rev. Zach

Genesis 12:1-4a      Romans 4:1-5, 13-17      John 3:1-17 [The sermon begins with a skit based on two tech support transcripts. One is about a wrong number . The other is about a person who just needed some confidence .] Somehow, I get the feeling that the second caller could have been our favorite Pharisee, Nicodemus. I think that on some level Nicodemus knew what Jesus was about, and he just needed a little confidence builder with his Virtual Private Network. But we’ll get to that in a minute. First I want to clarify why he’s our favorite Pharisee. I say “favorite” because he is about the only one mentioned in a positive light, even though he came under the cover of darkness! We don’t know why he came at night, but most scholars assume that it was to cover his tracks. Maybe he was sent by his brothers in the religious council – the Sanhedrin – but he came alone, and there seems to be no deceit in his questions. Other stories describe ...

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16     Romans 4:13-25     Mark 8:31-38 I imagine that if I were to ask you what you think of when I say the word, “hack,” you might come up with a variety of things.  You might say an imposter, a cheat, or – if your vocabulary is really fancy – a charlatan.  Of course, these days the word hack is most likely used when talking about computers.  Hearing that might make you think of one of the great the boogey men of our day – identity theft. Although you may think of computer hacking as some nefarious person sneaking in through the internet and robbing you blind, there is a lot more to it than that.  Hacking has become a more general term for any kind of rule bending and out of the box thinking that you can come up with.  It is not good, nor is it bad.  It just is. Take video gaming as an example.  For those of you who do not know, in the world of video games – which is a multibillion dollar indust...

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Sermon audio is available here for up to one month. What do Presbyterians do during Lent? Do we celebrate it? How? Sure, in our congregation, we change the paraments and stoles to purple. We take out the “Alleluias” and the Gloria Patri from worship, and we add in the Kyrie . We hold special services to celebrate significant moments in the life of the church – both past and present. These are all very important shifts in what we do as a worshiping community. These are all things we do to remind ourselves that God is God and we are not. These are things we do to prepare ourselves as a community for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, through which we have hope and comfort in all of our struggles. Not only that, but these are things we do to remind ourselves that God is active and present now, and that our salvation does not begin when this life ends. Our salvation begins when we re...

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 of Lafayette, Louisiana March 20, 2011 – Lent (A2) Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 (Cantor – Bruce Turner) Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 I wonder how many of you have ever been in a house of mirrors? It can be a lot of fun wandering through halls – even running into walls you did not know were there. The curved fun house mirrors can be fun, too. I enjoy exaggerating the shape of my body, though I must confess that sometimes the flaws I deny become too real in those mirrors. In the reality show "What Not To Wear" contestants are ambushed by friends to confront their unflattering and outdated clothing choices. One of the first steps in the journey of transformation for the contestants is to step into a booth with mirrors all around them to get a 360˚ view of themselves. No flaws are hidden from the 360˚ mirror. That is what we have in the scriptures today, a mirror of our lives that offers no retreat from our past, present, or future. It is overl...