Spirituality That Matters

Isaiah 58: 1-14

Roger Lynn

September 29, 2019

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Worship – holiness – spirituality – faith – openness to God’s presence. It goes by lots of different names, but being aware of God in the midst of our living, and connecting with that presence, has been a human endeavor for as long as humans have been on this planet. It takes lots of different forms, from highly ritualistic practices to casual, personal reflection. For some it occupies large portions of their every waking moment. For others it is a once-in-awhile sort of thing. There are breakthrough moments that change people’s lives. There are quiet, subtle moments that form the background against which life is lived. But all too often, I fear, our spirituality is less powerful and less meaningful than it could be, because we don’t allow it to be as big as it can be. We sometimes tend to try keeping it all to ourselves – just me and God! And there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, such personal experience is an essential part of being spiritually aware. But when we stop there, we are shortchanging ourselves and the world.

Open to God’s Abundance

Joel 2: 23-29 & Luke 18: 9-14

Roger Lynn

September 22, 2019

(the audio and video for this sermon are unavailable due to technical difficulties)

The two were as different as night and day. The Pharisee had spent his whole life striving to do everything necessary to be in right relationship with God. He took his prayer life so seriously that he fasted twice a week. He took his financial responsibilities so seriously that he gave ten percent of his income to help the poor. He knew the scriptures backwards and forwards. Every action he took was calculated to conform to the law. He had his life together and he knew it.

The tax collector’s life was a different story. He was employed by the Roman government, which was the hated occupying enemy of his people. And his wages were actually obtained by demanding more money from the people than payment of their actual taxes required. In other words, he was a liar and a thief and an enemy collaborator, and he knew it.

The Pharisee was sure he was so good that he didn’t need any help from anyone. The tax collector was sure he was so bad that he was beyond help from anyone. And they were both out of touch with the truth. The Pharisee’s problem was not that he was striving to live a good life. His problem was that he thought living a good life made him self-sufficient and earned him a ticket to heaven. The tax collector’s problem was not that he was making choices which put him at odds with both his people and his values. His problem was that he thought those choices made him a worthless person and earned him a ticket to hell. The truth of the matter is that it isn’t particularly helpful to think of ourselves as either saints or sinners. We are all just human beings who need both God and each other to experience our full potential.

Mind The Gap

Luke 16: 19-31

Roger Lynn

September 15, 2019

(the audio & video for this sermon are unavailable this week - hopefully next week)

When you ride the Metro Underground in London, you quickly become very familiar with a short little warning. At every station, as the doors of the train open for passengers to get on and off, an announcement politely reminds everyone to “Mind the gap!” The “gap” is the space between the train and the edge of the platform. Sometimes it is wide enough to catch a foot or a leg. The warning to “mind the gap” is a polite way of saying “pay attention or you might get hurt.”

At the heart of Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus is that same warning. Sometimes gaps (chasms) open up between us, and if we aren’t careful they can do some real damage, both for us and for those on the other side of those gaps. “Mind the gap,” Jesus says, “before it’s too late.”

Faith Under Construction

Philemon 1-25

Roger Lynn

September 8, 2019

(click here for the audio for this sermon)
(the video for this sermon is unavailable this week)

Faith is always an “in process” endeavor. This is true whether we are talking about faith in our personal lives, or faith as we find it revealed within the pages of scripture. We could hang a permanent sign on the entire undertaking that reads, “Under Construction - Pardon Our Mess.” There is always room to grow. There is always room for new insights and new perspectives which bring us into ever closer relationship with God.

Take the book of Philemon for example. It is a wonderful little snapshot into Paul and his “under construction” faith. In many ways it is one of the more peculiar books in the Bible. It is definitely the shortest book (one chapter - 25 verses). It is arguably the most personal – a letter from Paul to an individual names Philemon.