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Follow Me! Mark 1:14-20

       My memories of Christian Formation take me back to the 4 th grade.   I had been in church since my mom was allowed to take me out as an infant.   I have memories prior to 4 th grade.   I remember faking passing out in the second grade and scaring O’nelia Whitaker my Sunday school teacher to death because I wanted my grandmother and knew if I were sick, they would go get her.   I remember the little chairs with bunny rabbit backs and Bible school cookies and red Kool-Aid.   I remember my 3 rd grade Sunday School teacher, Jerry Pagett and him being the first teacher to ask us to pray out loud.   But the 4 th grade was when I really remember beginning to learn things like the books of the Bible and who the 12 disciples were.    Edna Frady and Charlene Noland were my teachers and Edna always made sure there was a song to teach us what she wanted us to learn.   There were prizes too for knowing the books of the Bible...
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Come and See! A sermon based on John 1:43-51

            Throughout my Christian journey I have had moments where I have struggled and wrestled with questions of the faith.   The first memory I have of such questions was when I was in the third grade and my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and given a prognosis of 6 months to live.   She was only 50 years old.   I remember being at church around a bonfire and praying my little third grade heart out for God to take away her pain.   She lived 6 years longer than her prognosis and for me at the time, that was the answer to our prayers.             My next struggle came when my best friend’s mom died after a long battle with cancer that took her life at 46 years old, leaving behind four daughters, two who were still at home.   I wrestled at great length and with great pain to understand why bad things happen to good people.   The very first...
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Proactive Children of God: Mark 1:1-11

  Wednesday was January 6, the day that Christians around the world celebrate Epiphany.   Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season and it’s the time that we focus on the story of the Magi coming to the manger and paying homage to Jesus.   The Magi were also being used by Herod in his plot to find Jesus, and to kill him.   When the plot didn’t work Herod ordered all baby boys under two to be killed.   We read this story about Genocide and I think that most times we want to read over it and get to the good stuff, the hopeful stuff.   We want to concentrate on the light that led the Magi to Jesus.   We want to focus on the gifts they bore for Jesus.   We want to celebrate the Magi for the heroes they were because they didn’t submit to Herod’s plan to use them for ill will.   Instead, they took another path home and Joseph, Mary and Jesus were able to flee to Egypt out of harms way.   We celebrate this.   We celebrate this light t...
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