…there is no peace.

Pastor DeborahLeave a comment

“To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear?  See, their ears are closed, they cannot listen….For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.  They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.”  Jeremiah 6:10a,13-14

Jeremiah is shouting at the leaders of Jerusalem (which means, “city of peace”!) with God’s message of anger toward those who should know better.  Those entrusted with caring for the people have “put on band-aids, saying, ‘It’s not so bad.  You’ll be just fine.'” (Eugene Peterson)

Things are not fine.  How many mass shootings is it going to take for us–all of us–to deal directly with the sources–and there are multiple–of the wounding of our people–God’s people– wherever they live, whatever they believe, whatever language they speak?  Will it be this 45th shooting in one year?  May it be so.

Sermon: “The Promise of Laughter”

HRPC OfficeLeave a comment

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7

It is a great turn-around story.  Mt. Paran was a Presbyterian church shriveling up after almost 290 years of Christian witness in the same community.  Fewer people in worship on Sundays than the number of disciples around the table with Jesus.  An 11 acre tract of land to care for and two aging buildings needing major attention.  In 2004, Ruling Elder Ed Terry, previously a member of Hunting Ridge, was commissioned by the Presbytery to minister to this withering church.  The Presbytery was recommending that the doors be closed due to an inability to keep up with the costs to operate a church.  God had a different plan.  God, who specializes in the impossible, has transformed this church.  Continue reading “Sermon: “The Promise of Laughter”” →