Rev. Zach

Psalm 23       John 9:1-41 You’ve probably heard it said – in one way or another – that perception is reality. C.S. Lewis said it this way: “What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.” Emerson said, “People only see what they are prepared to see.” And Anaïs Nin, an American author of Cuban dissent wrote, “We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are.” Since today’s gospel reading uses sight to examine how we see from a spiritual perspective, I’d like to begin with a little demonstration of the assumptions that we often make in the way we see things. This will require your participation. Please place your hands down on either side of your legs. Now look straight ahead and (in one motion) lift your hands up, point to the center and touch your index fingers together. Pretty easy, right? Now do the same thing with one eye closed. Not as easy, was it. You see, vision is ma...

Numbers 21:4-9     Ephesians 2:1-10     John 3:14-21 As a child – I must confess – I grew up in relative paradise.  We lived on a five acre plot in Northeast Georgia surrounded by twenty undeveloped acres that were owned by someone who lived in New Hampshire – which might as well have been another planet as far as I knew.  I spent many a night outdoors camping and playing.  I was never afraid of the dark.  I can remember sneaking out at night and having no fear other than the possibility of getting caught.  Many years later I found myself in a cave with a church youth group.  Our guide had us turn off all lights to experience total darkness.  I remember being astonished that my hand touched my face without expectation from any visual cue.  We were told to consider this to be like the formless void of creation, the abyss of nothingness, the womb of the earth, or perhaps the presence of God even in the absence of bein...

Joshua 5:9‐12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16‐21 Luke 15:1‐3, 11b‐32 Sermon audio is available here for up to one month. In the congregaIon I served before coming here the officers and staff all received an assessment of gifts through a company that specialized in organizaIonal dynamics. Many of you have probably done something similar if you work in a management capacity with a large firm or corporaIon. It was very insightful, and I think it helped us all understand each other’s motives and perspecIves. Without boring you with the details of it, one thing that I learned about myself (that everyone who has had a five minute conversaIon with me already knows) is that I am a change maker. What I did not realize at the time is that most people are more interested in consistency than change. Not only that, but change without purpose is really very self serving. So, there you have it. That is my Achilles' heal exposed. That is the disgrace that God rolls away from me again and again. Fi...

Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 Luke 13:1-9 Sermon Audio is available  here for up to one month. Some of today's headlines read: Islamist militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar 'killed in Mali' NATO apologizes after two Afghan boys killed Who’s sin is the greater? Syria conflict: Assad accuses UK of bullying Zimbabwe's Mugabe holds lavish 89th birthday party Who’s sin is the greater? Gonzales man booked in meth lab case Keiosha Felix is still missing , and the current focus is on the firing of the lead investigator. Meanwhile, everyone remembers Mickey – as well they should, and no one is willing to talk about the possibilities and atrocities of human trafficking. Who’s sin is the greater? That’s what Jesus asks the crowd who cannot seem to interpret the headlines any better than the weather. A bold voice from the crowd asks about the injustice of Pilot, who mingled the blood of some Galileans – people from Jesus’ neck of the woods – wit...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana April 2, 2001 – Lent (A4) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 "So, how's your ministry going?"  That's what my sister's friend, April, asked me when she found out that I had begun a career in ministry.  I was only 19 at the time and working part time with the youth of the church I grew up in.  April is a Baptist, and I took her question to be rather, well – Baptisty.  By that I mean to say that my cultural bias is that Baptists are more individualized in their expression of Spirituality. I don't remember what I said but I remember thinking, "My ministry?  No. I don't have a ministry.  This is Christ's ministry that I am a part of.  The church has a ministry.  I could never be so bold as to claim that ministry was mine."  The funny thing is, that question has been - and remains - a central question to my understanding of who I am as an ordained minister.  Even more so, ...