Things That Come In Threes

Things That Come In Threes

Isiaah 6:1-8; John 3:1-17

Today is Trinity Sunday. We love the stories that are told and retold over the course of the church year: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, the parables of Jesus, the stories in Acts about the Apostles and the church. And then we have Trinity Sunday. This is the one Sunday that focuses on a doctrine of the church. When preachers choose to preach a Trinity Sunday sermon, they generally take on the impossible task of explaining something that is beyond explanation. I’ve done it, more than once - sometimes with reasonably good response; other times putting a congregation to sleep with theological mumbo-jumbo. So, today, I am NOT going to attempt explaining what we mean by the Trinity. But I do hope to play with the idea of Trinity so that you might experience something of the mystery of God.

Out of Darkness

Easter Sunrise Message – 2012

John 20:1-10; Psalm 116:1-9,23-26; Isaiah 25:6-9; John 20:11-18

On Saturday, two weeks before Easter, I began working on my message for the Sunrise Service. I was reviewing the scripture readings for the day and pulling together a liturgy and bulletin information to share with other worship leaders. And in the middle of my reflections I got a disturbing phone call. It was a call to let me know about the death of Rachel, a beautiful young woman whose life was full of promise. My focus on the celebration of Easter was interrupted by the terrible reality of the darkness of life. My thoughts, my prayers, my heart turned to Rachel's family and the pain and grief that they were experiencing, even as I was preparing for celebrating good news.