Rev. Zach

Isaiah 50:4-9     Romans 12:1-8      Mark 12:28-34 Today is “Dedication Sunday,” and there are things that I love and things that I don’t love about this day. One thing that I love is that I get to to tell my bacon and eggs joke. Do you know how bacon and eggs demonstrate the difference between involvement and commitment? Because the chicken is involved in getting your breakfast to you, but the pig is committed to it! Of course we are assuming the egg is unfertilized. I’m not sure that the pig was all that excited about the idea, either, and I would guess that if given the chance the pig would decline the invitation. Christian faith is, however, an “all in” kind of thing – or at least that is the description we get in scripture. Our passage from Isaiah was written to a conquered people to demonstrate the hope that remained in their identity as the people of God. The “Suffering Servant” demonstrates perseverance and faith as a testimony to the people, b...

Sermon Delivered on August 12, 2012  Psalm 34:1-8 Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2 John 6:35, 41-51 In 1991 a brilliant and troubled artist let out a cry for help that became a short lived anthem for a generation of apparently apathetic teenagers who were raised in excess. Smells like Teen Spirit was both a pun and a rallying cry. It was a canary screaming garbled speech about those who were united through feelings of meaningless. The canary screamed before 9/11, before the term “school shooting” existed, and during a time of relative peace when I naively believed that our nation might have an entire generation live and die without partaking in the game of kings known as war. What a different world it is today, and how I wish that we had the things to complain about now that we did then. I guess everyone who lives long enough says that at some point. Perhaps that longing for something more perfect is why we enjoy the Olympics so much. Competition is pure – or at least it can be. Perhaps ...