~ by the Pastor and guest writers ~
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Easter and Beyond (April 24, 2003) Last week I was sitting next to a friend of mine at a Committee on Ministry meeting in San Antonio and at one point she turned to me during a break and asked, “What will you be preaching on for Easter Sunday?” It did not take me long to respond because the first thing that came to mind was, “You know, I have always wished that on Easter Sunday pastors would stand up and read one of the texts from the four Gospels and that would serve as the sermon for that Sunday. The rest of the service would be prayers and hymns with the Hallelujah Chorus and that would be it for worship that day.” Later I had time to reflect a little more about my response and I still think that would be appropriate. I find Easter one of the most difficult Sundays on which to preach. Why? For one thing, what else can be said in place of, “He Is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!”? The other reason is the crowds are usually larger. I know my tendency is to speak a word a word of encouragement to those who may attend this particular Sunday and a Sunday at Christmas and that may be it for the entire year. I almost always want to say to them, “Easter goes beyond this Sunday and even though the Lord is risen, the story is not over.” In fact, with Easter the story begins. So, not to disappoint you I will preach on Easter Sunday and I hope if this is your first Sunday to attend worship for some time that it will not be your last until Christmas. Here are the opportunities to worship during Holy Week: · Maundy Thursday Service of Holy Communion on April 17, 2003 at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary · Good Friday Service on April 18, 2003 at 12:00 Noon in the sanctuary · Easter Sunrise Service on April 20, 2003 at 7:00 AM in the courtyard · Easter Service on April 20, 2003 at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary I hope for many of you this Easter will be a new beginning for your story and your story with God. Because the story is not over our Lord will lead us beyond a grave and back into the world where he is already there ahead of us. He is calling each of you by name to Easter and beyond. Come, join with God’s people here at First Presbyterian Church and be Christ’s faithful disciples.
 Halls, Walls, and Rooflines (April 8, 2003) If you are in and around our church building the next few days you will notice a lot of activity on the roof. A crew will be removing and installing our new metal roof so please be patient while our roofline changes. If you have not been around here for a while this is a call to those we would like to see inside these halls and walls. One of the challenges of being the church in the 21st century is to proclaim a Gospel that I believe runs counter to so much individualism we see in our American culture. We hear a lot about “spirituality.” I continue to have conversations with those who proclaim their spirituality but want little to do with Christianity and the church. Let me be as honest as I can: spirituality is not the same thing as Christianity. There is a lot in our culture that claims to be spiritual but I just do not believe is Christian. There is a world of difference when I define what is spiritual in my own private world and that world excludes the communion of the saints. Truth be known, I read Scripture differently and it runs counter to so much spiritual individualism that is practiced today. In fact, I would be eager to learn what this “spiritual individualism” means and how it’s practiced. The Christian faith has always been lived out as a community who gathers because we need each other. So, come and walk the halls and walls again here at First Presbyterian Church in the next few weeks. I hope your journey of Lent will take you out of yourself to a Christ who leads us to serve each other. If you hang around the church here are a few things we are serving on the menu:
As I have said before, Lent is a time for all you can eat. Come and be served and serve. Thanks be to God!
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