Rev. Zach

First Presbyterian Church – Lafayette, Louisiana September 11, 2011 – Ordinary (24 A) Psalm 23 Romans 12:9-21 Matthew 18:21-35 “Never forget!” These are two words that have taken on a whole new meaning in our country in the last ten years. It seems unlikely that anyone ever could forget a tragedy like the attacks of September 11, 2011, yet there are still so many stories longing to be told. Even so, the admonition by itself raises questions for me. What is it that we must remember and why? Is it the fact that some warped individuals with sin sick souls were manipulated by cowards to crash planes into buildings? Is it the fact that the relative peace and prosperity of our United States was challenged by an outside force that we used to think of as weak and fearful in our presence? Is it the stories of ordinary people becoming extraordinary heroes in the face of tragedy? Yes. All of these things must be remembered, but why? We remember to honor the dead and to give a sense of purpose a...

The other day Sam, my 3 yr. old son, did something that ended with him in time out. I don't even remember what he did, and it doesn't really matter at this point. Regarding the behavior of our children, we try to positively reinforce good behavior and deter bad behavior by limiting the options for it. Of course, most of you probably know that children can be quite creative, and you can not limit every negative experience. Nor should we. How else can you learn to walk without falling down a few times. When we punish bad behavior we try to make sure the consequences are clear beforehand and that the punishment fits the crime. We also try to make sure that they know what behaviors, attitudes, or actions they are being punished for, why these things are not good, and what a better choice might have been. After the punishment we are sure to affirm our love for them and our dissatisfaction with the offense. We want to make a clear distinction between being bad and doing something bad...