Lost and Found

Tomorrow I'm preaching on something we all deal with - forgiveness. And we deal with it from both sides: we all are in the situation of needing to forgive someone or at least know we have the opportunity to do so, and we all need to be forgiven from time to time. Sadly, for such an important topic, this complex matter of forgiveness is often presented by Christians as being simple. It is not simple. Forgiveness takes time; there are stages we need to experience. God's compassion is for all: it is for us when we are lost in our own sins, when we have wandered far to a distant land, distant from our true selves...AND God's compassion is for us when we are in the situation of forgiving others...we can be lost in the pain of the hurt we have suffered at the hand of another. In both cases, God is seeking to help us. Through God's grace, we who have been lost are found...found, connected to our true selves and to God, when we know we are forgiven, and when we know we have been able to forgive others.

Lent at St. Paul's on-the-Hill

As our cartoon friends discuss, Lent is not a sad time of year. It is a time to answer God's call to move even deeper into the divine life of God. God wants to be close to us, and Lent gives us a time to answer that call in a focused way. The whole idea of giving something up for Lent comes from the belief that when we let certain things go, we make more room for God in our lives. In this way, Lent is a glad time of year. Join us for Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. We will have two services one at noon and one at 7pm...and that is just the start. Join us each Wednesday for our Lenten Program and each Sunday as we take this journey into Lent, and through Lent, as we move toward Easter.

Movies about SPOTH

My new favorite thing to do in my spare time is to create these little movies. You can go to http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6116459/ ...or just click on the movie to see this movie and others. We have a welcome to St. Paul's on the Hill movie and one about Lent (done by the youth group today).

Fulfilled in Jesus Christ

God's love is known to us through Jesus, and in Luke's Gospel this week we hear Jesus say that the words of comfort found in Isaiah are fulfilled in him for those who hear. Coming to church to worship God is a time of peace for me and I hope for you. Join us to learn more and more how God seeks to meet us where we are and bring us to "where" God is.

Rejoice....this week's sermon

OK, so John the Baptist calls the people a bunch of snakes...what is he getting at and does this approach with people work. Well, John was saying that just because the people were coming to him for baptism, he did not believe that they were serious about it. If they were serious, John expected to see some changes in their lives...like sharing with those in need and not taking more in taxes than people were actually required to give. John was kind of harsh, but his central messages was about Jesus and it was Good News. Jesus would be their Savior. That is something to rejoice about...and, for us today, to share in ways that can be understood by those who don't go to church.

In his book, They Like Jesus But Not The Church, Dan Kimball explains that many people don't see joy, love, compassion when they look at churches or know from their church experience. How can we let our gentleness be known to everyone? May this Christmas be a time when many do see the joy that we share and know through our Savior Jesus Christ.

The 2nd Sunday of Advent - Preparing for Salvation

It snowed here in Winchester today, which gave me a lot of time to ponder the themes found in our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is also the Feast of St. Nicholas. Millions of people know who Santa Claus is, even if they don't know that Santa Claus is really St. Nicholas mispronounced in English from the Dutch, Sinter Klaas. How does all this relate to John the Baptist, you ask? Well, John called people to repent and turn to God; he wanted them to live life in a way that displayed the faith they claimed, or wanted to claim, for themselves. St. Nick was a man, who became a bishop, who lived in such away that he is still remembered today, by many who know little about the Christian faith...this is of course not a good thing one hand...but on the other hand, it shows what living our faith can do...how it can prepare the way for others to learn about the love of God. Many people celebrate Christmas because of Santa Claus - it is our job to work with the secular nature of our culture and link it back to God and to the faith that gave us Christmas...that gave us Jesus Christ.

The First Sunday of Advent

Hope to see all my people (SPOTH people that is) at church tomorrow. Advent begins! Tomorrow the sermon addresses our Advent Faith, our Advent Hope, what the season is all about...how it is countercultural.