Rev. Zach

Exodus 3:7-8a, 10, 12 John 2:13-17 Did you ever think, for even a minute, that you would go to church in your bathrobe? Maybe you are someone who has been going to church online for a while, but for most of us this is nothing short of shocking and new – and not always in a good way. Really though, its been encouraging to hear from those who are enjoying our services and interacting online during worship, and I am so glad that you are here with us, right now, online – even if you are watching after the live premiere! Just by your presence, you are helping the church of Jesus Christ realize that there are things that God can do through us that we never even imagined. There are also some who are worshiping with us just by reading printed liturgy that we’ve mailed to them or reading the posted sermon online. That may not be what we typically think of as worship, but it truly is – or at least it can be. If nothing else, it raises the question, “What does it mean to worship God, and why do...

2 Corinthians 5:14-20 Today is part two of a series on the “Great Ends,” or purposes of, the church. You could say that these “great ends” were kind of like a mission statement for the Protestant Reformation. They were statements of identity and purpose for the whole church – not just this congregation or that one, but everyone who follows Jesus and makes up “The Church” – and they started with: The Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind. Last week we talked about the proclamation of the gospel, what it means, and how we are not in it alone, how it is not up to us alone, and how it is not optional. We can’t be the church of Jesus Christ without proclaiming salvation from sin and death, and we can’t be saved from sin and death without acting in ways to welcome others into the love and mercy of God. Today we’re going to talk a little more about the way we welcome others by “Providing for the Shelter, Nurture, and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God.” Now, I k...

Romans 5:1-8 Matthew 9:35-10:2 [The sermon begins with Zach holding up a sign – The End Is Near!] So many people are holding up signs of protest these days that it is not a surprise that I am hearing those that are not protesting lament that the end times must surely be upon us. Times of drastic change always brings out the fear that everything we know and love must surely be coming to an end. It may feel that way for some of us – and for all I know it may be that way for all of us – but one thing is true: we are experiencing a time of change that feels like a tectonic shift in the fabric of our society. Amidst all of the protests against racial inequality and the conversations we are having about our unrealistic expectations of our police and our fears over an even more militant response to those crying out, I can’t help but ask – where is the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of this? It seems almost irrelevant to say, as the church has for so long, “If you just accept God’s love ...

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20 A friend of mine sent an email to a clergy support group that I am a part of. The title was ‘Atlanta is Burning.” Having been raised in a civil war town where battles are re-enacted annually and a museum boasts participation in a Southern victory over a Northern supply route, I can tell you that phrase is a little triggering for me but maybe not in the way you might expect. When I was a child, my family watched the annual broadcasts of “Gone With The Wind” as though it were a sacred duty. I even remember the last time we watched it because I asked if I had to watch it. Of course, I was told no. Watching it was just something that we had always done together, but it wasn’t required. I was also raised with a revisionist history taught in school that essentially said, “Slavery was bad, but some masters were nice, and some were even black. Oh, lynchings also happened, but Civil Rights and Affirmative Action leveled the playing field, so everyt...

Acts 2:1-21 Today is Pentecost! While it is one of my favorite days in the seasons of the church calendar, it is also one of those weird words that we never use outside of the church. This means that, outside of the church, it probably has little to no meaning to most people. In fact, even those raised in the church may be hard-pressed to tell you what it means and where it comes from. Some of us just know it as “the day to wear red,” which also loses its meaning when you live in a college town that has red as a school color. Yet Pentecost is so much more than a day! Pentecost is the recognition of the gift of the Holy Spirit that formed the church. It connects us to our Jewish roots in that it comes 50 days after Easter, just as the Festival of Shavuot – the celebration of the gift of the law – happens 50 days after the Festival of the Passover. Why is that? Make no mistake in thinking that God intended to wipe one tradition out with another. No, what God intended was to make it cle...

Colossians 3:8-9 James 1:19 Colossians 3:12-13, 15b Last Sunday we talked about the power of words to build up, and we specifically struggled with the idea of speaking up for the needs of others without losing our identity as God’s people and without forgetting that everyone is created in the image of God. We also talked a little about the need for a witness that we can all agree on and share that grows out of our love for God and gets expressed through our love for those who are vulnerable. We did not talk as much about our own vulnerability as we did about those who are considered more at risk these days: the elderly, those who are in nursing homes or homebound, those with disabilities, supply chain workers and those in crowded and unsafe working conditions, our police and healthcare workers, and the African American community. If this list describes you as you are watching, know that we are worshiping online as a public witness of God’s love for you! This is a public witness t...

Scripture:  James 3:7b-10, Proverbs 31:8, Ephesians 4:29 Worship Online: youtube.com/c/fpclafayette From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My siblings in Christ, this ought not to be so. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. These words seem like simple truths, and, on the surface, they are. It is true that with the same mouth we praise God and curse those made in God’s image, and that ought not be so. Yet Proverbs 31:18 also tells us that we must, “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.” How is it that we can follow the rule of “not saying anything unless we have something nice to say” when there are some pretty bad things going on that need to be spoken about? Over the next two weeks, we are going to be wrestling with the difficulty of speaking out against injustice, while always working toward a greater unders...