The article this week is from a sermon preached by a congregant who wishes to remain anonymous. James Cone teaches at Yale and recently published a book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree. It is a disturbing book. Cone tells the story of how, over a 60-year period (1880-1940), more than 5,000 African American persons…
“I’m not religious, I’m spiritual …” is a common phrase we’ve all heard. I like it myself. To me, when I think of being religious, I think of rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, and being all stuffy and uppity. Who needs it? I also like the phrase, “Some people are so heavenly minded, they’re…
What do you do at least once a day? At least once a day, we stand in front of a mirror and check out the way we look. If an adjustment is necessary, and it usually is, then we straighten our clothes or comb our hair – all because the mirror has helped us by…
Do you struggle with temptation? I heard someone saying, “I don’t struggle with temptation, I just give in to it!” Oh my! There isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t tempted in some way. Temptation comes in many forms; we’re tempted not to tell the truth; to take something that doesn’t belong to…
In dealing with difficulties and trials in life, it helps to know you’re not alone. Difficulties come into everyone’s life. “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so…
Bad things happen to everyone – it’s true. Including me. I remember a particular morning in the office it seemed like there was one problem after another – and they began to add up. It was time to go to lunch and yet another crisis came to my attention and before I knew it, it…
One of my favorite phrases in Scripture is found more than 450 times in the King James Version of the Bible: “It came to pass.” This can be very good news, especially as we’re thinking of wilderness times. Wilderness times come. As sure as the sun will rise – there will be a season in…
We each have our own times of wilderness – and the testing that goes with that. Each wilderness experience that comes our way brings difficulties and struggles – and, also – opportunities for growth and learning. The Gospel of Mark says that there were wild beasts in the wilderness with Jesus. Aren’t our wilderness times…
We all have wilderness times in our lives. Jesus’ wilderness time “immediately” followed his baptism and the powerful affirmation of who he was: “You are my Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The Gospels say that the same Spirit who descended on him at his baptism also drove him out into the bleak, lonely…
One of the things I love about MCC is the diversity we have. People come from all walks of life and from many different denominations, church experiences and spiritual paths. We are a community church built on the premises of what our founder, Troy Perry called the three-prong gospel: Christian salvation, Christian community and Christian…
