Can all mysteries be explained? Nearly sixty years ago, my aunt and uncle were married. She was a refined North Carolinian woman, the daughter of a senator, a law school graduate. She was always well read, loved cooking, and was the most gracious of hostesses. He was from Tacoma, back in the days before the … read
If you were to buy a package of sunflower seeds to snack on, and if you bit off the kernel to get to the wee seed, and if you were to look at that seed for a few seconds, you might marvel at the fact that such a plain little thing, if planted, will grow … read
While on study leave in January, I learned a new preacher’s trick: the four-page sermon, in which the sermon is structured in four parts: problem in the text, problem in the world; grace in the text, grace in the world. Now I’ll admit that the four-page sermon has been a bit of a struggle this … read
Of course many of you are familiar with Isaac Newton’s third law, that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As it is in the world of nature and science, so it is in the world of human relationships – our actions often, if not always, result in an equal reaction.In today’s … read
How are we doing, Westminster? It’s a good question to ask at least once a year. So, how are we doing? We can answer that question by looking at numbers, for those of you who appreciate facts and figures more than poetry. This year we received 18 new members and lost, through death, transfer, or … read
The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light, Isaiah told us once, back in Advent as we were awaiting the birth of the Christ child. We’re now in the season of Epiphany, celebrating the light of Christ in the world. But today’s text tugs at us to go back to Isaiah, not … read