Getting in there early

Well, I was scheduled to launch the blog on Sunday, July 1st, but here I am - it's Saturday night, and it's either write or mow the grass. So...

Here's a portion of the epistle for tomorrow--the part that inspired the sermon title (Vote for me and I'll set you free - can you guess the title of the pop medium that line comes from?):

"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit to a yoke of
slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

St. Paul talks about the great gift we have been given by Jesus--freedom! We have been liberated from sin and death and the need to always justify ourselves before God. We can be more than what we were before because of Christ, and because we have been given the Holy Spirit. We can now leave behind the passion of the flesh, and bear the fruits of the Spirit--

Joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control.

Question for ya - Which of these fruits are maturing on your branches these days?

For me, it's gentleness. I try to meet the world and the people in it in a gentle way--as did Jesus. I find that preferable to bravado, self-importance, or self-righteousness. Now sometimes that can trait be mistaken for whimpy-ness, I know. And the danger in practicing it is to not hold people accountable to God. It's a narrow road with ditches waiting on both sides. And so I ask as did Paul, "Let us also be guided by the Spirit!" Couldn't do it on my own.

Hope to see you in church. Visit the blog each day for conversation, information, and hopefully, inspiration!

Peace!

A tidbit here or there

Those who know me know I enjoy snacking. "Just a wee smackerel," as that great philosopher Winnie-the-Pooh was want to say--just a little taste of what's available.

That's the way I'm going to come at this, my first entry into the world of blog. A tidbit here or there of what I've been "snacking" on when it comes to scripture, books, life together, and whatever else might be hiding in the corner of the fridge!

I invite you to respond (congenially) to what ever moves you. Let's snack together!

What's in the Pastor's Pantry?

• Each week I'll post some questions concerning daily life and the gospel appointed for the previous Sunday. I hope that some of you will find what I'm asking so intriguing (or so out there) that you'll just have to answer!
• Starting in July, there will be an on-line Bible Study, consisting of some commentary on one of the upcoming lessons, a few reflections, and a way you could experience that lesson in real life.
• Mystery meat. Like that tupperware container that sits in the back of the fridge, we may just open something up and see what's inside. Maybe it's about worship, maybe theology, maybe even stewardship or evangelism. Mystery isn't such a bad thing (well maybe it is when it comes to meat). But in the life of faith, it is something to be immersed in and to let all the many meanings and nuances wash over you. So that will be a part of the pantry too.

Enough for a snack. See you in the Pantry!