March 15, 2020
For me the reality of human suffering does not call into question the existence of God. For me the question becomes – How do we connect with God in the midst of suffering? Usually, it is with the less said the better.

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John Mann | March 8, 2020 Luke 4:1-13 Why do people do the things they do? Maybe because we aren’t robots; our behavior isn’tprogrammed; we have such a wide variety of choices. We hear that Jesus was tested as we are. On one level we accept that because it is part…

March 1, 2020
God created us, claimed us as Her children, loves us beyond even a motherly love, forgives us…restores us. May we then respond with our own worship and service…in the continuing story…of grace…of forgiveness…of love.

When Jesus took his followers up to the mountain top and they saw him shining from within, maybe what he was trying to show them was, “This is how God sees me. When I came up out of the water that day I was baptized and I heard the voice of God say, ‘you are my beloved child in whom I pleasure.’ this inner light I showed you is the light I recognized in myself. This is who I am.”

And we have the promise of Jesus in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Well, could God have stopped the earthquake? Most of us would say, Yes. But God didn’t. And we are driven back to silence. There is no good answer. My faith and my hope is that God is with the suffering people of Haiti and everywhere people are suffering. It has been said that God’s heart is the first to break. As William Sloane Coffin has said, “God is short on protection and long on companionship.”

The ability to make and enjoy music is a wonderful gift from the hand of God. To my knowledge every human society on the face of the earth employs and enjoys the gift of music.

How do we make decisions? How do we discern the will of God? We start with scripture, scripture through the lens of Jesus. We pray and listen to our own guts. And we seek the wisdom and discernment of our trusted Christian friends. If we get all three to line up, we can with confidence move forward.

Follow Jesus. Read the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, so you know what that means, to follow Jesus. Then read them again. Start with the gospel of Luke and you will fall in love with Jesus.

At the end of the day, Jesus didn’t actually answer the question about eternal life. He talked about the here and now. He said, “Come near… come near… so you can see… this child of God. Provide the compassionate care that is needed…love your neighbor (and your enemy) as much as you love yourself. Do this… and live.”