Category: Sermons

Cape Town’s a beautiful land. It’s the most stunning place I’ve ever seen with a mountain range called the Twelve Apostles. I hiked up one of them with new friends, and made my way to Table Mountain. It was a very different communion. My favorite place was Cape Point, the southern tip, where it felt like I reached the edge of the earth.

It’s a holy land. Sacred and blessed. It’s also a land with deep and lasting scars….

Today, the Apartheid government has fallen, but the scars on the land still remain. The townships remain deeply segregated with high crime rates, especially at night. I was repeatedly told that it wasn’t safe for me to go into the townships without going with a local, and not to be in the townships at night. So I made friends with locals to get to know the real Cape Town…. Continue reading “From Capetown to Baltimore…excerpts from Craig Sparks’ reflections 8.14.16” →

1 Kings 17: 7-16 /Matthew 28:16-20:

We have been conditioned to look at a photo like this and think, oh, too bad, the pews are empty.  Pews are meant to be full.  Of course they are.  When churches like ours were built over 85 years ago, people were flocking to church buildings all over this city.  Have you ever taken stock of how many churches are on the corners of Baltimore?  There are 345 Baptist churches alone!  70 Roman Catholic churches.  22 Presbyterian churches.  And multiple other denominations.  And who knows how many small non-denominational storefront churches?  In the little neighborhood around Harlem Avenue there are 6 of those within 2-3 blocks.  No one would have built these churches unless they believed the pews had the potential to be full.  And for years, many of them were.  Full to overflowing with young children, teenagers, and adults of all ages.

As I said earlier this month, and as is easily visible, our social environment has changed.  The values placed on church membership and church attendance are very different than they were when this building was built in 1930, Continue reading “Why are we still sitting here?” →