Rev. Zach

Acts 2:14a, 36-41,  Luke 24:13-35,  1 Peter 1:17-23 Spring has sprung and there is a lot going on! Whether you are out enjoying God’s good creation or getting involved in some important social cause or just trying to keep the grass mowed without getting taken down by your allergies, it is a busy time of year. In fact, yesterday there were at least three places in town where you could celebrate Earth Day while supporting causes that you love, and I know some of our folks were pretty busy at two of them. Clancy hosted a table at the Earth Day celebration in Vermilionville and several others were volunteering and attending the Southern Garden Festival at Sarah Schoeffler’s house. I was able to get to both of those and each offered something amazing — conversation. Each of our texts today has some element of conversation, and they remind us that God is active and present — even when we are too busy to notice it — particularly in the space of our conversations. I want to say a bit ...

Scripture Readings: 1 Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35 Worship Online: youtube.com/c/fpclafayette I wonder how many of you are as tired of talking about COVID 19 as I am. I suppose we could just ignore it all and talk about Jesus, but the problem is that Jesus doesn’t live in denial of our troubles. He’s right there, walking with us, even when we walk away. That’s what the two disciples were doing. They had heard the testimony of the women. Peter had gone to check it out, and to his horror, the body of Jesus was gone. Only strips of cloth remained where his body had been. It didn’t matter that there were multiple women sharing the same truth. The disciples still rejected their story as a delusional fantasy of someone overwhelmed by grief. They did not know who had taken the body or where he was, but they weren’t going to stick around and find out either. It was over. Jesus was dead and the dream of the restoration of Israel was over. That was their reality, and they could not s...

Acts 2:42-47      1Peter 1:17-23      Luke 24:13-35 Today’s passages are filled with buzz words that trigger many thoughts and feelings to modern ears, just as they have for centuries. In Acts we hear that the first converts were devoted to the disciple’s teaching and to fellowship. They shared all things in common. There were signs and wonders done in their midst, and many were added to their numbers every day. Sometimes this story is used by people who are fed up with the hypocrisy of the church. “We are nothing like the first century church,” they say, and they are right. We do not know what signs and wonders were performed in those days, but I do wonder how long they were able to share things in common. It also makes me think of a carnival atmosphere or a renaissance festival. It sounds like a party, and maybe it was. Unfortunately, we’ll never know. What we do know is that they were gathered with an expectation. Initially that expe...