05/25/2019
Memorial Day seems to have diverse purposes as we observe the upcoming weekend.
1. The original purpose was to honor those who died in serving our country.
2. This seems to have expanded to decorating not only gravesites of those who
had served our country but also our other loved ones.
3. The Indianapolis 500 weekend
4. First weekend of summer
5. Open up the lake houses
And maybe you have other purposes for the weekend. I think that no matter the activity of the weekend, I hope you will take some time to remember…
1. Remember those who have served our country so that we have freedoms that
others may not have.
2. Remember loved ones who have impacted your life directly maybe not with
physical flowers on a gravesite but with prayers of thanks.
My mom makes the journey to place flowers on the gravesites of her mother, her father, and her sister each year. The years that I have made that trip with her, I see on her face that she is immersed in memories of them. What a beautiful way to honor the deceased person but also to honor God with thanks for the life that was shared with us.
Wherever the weekend may take you, I hope that you will pause to remember...most importantly remember that God has journeyed this life with you wherever that has been and that God will move forward with you...and in fact is ahead of you.
Have a blessed and safe Memorial Weekend. Pastor Patti
Archived Posts
Power Without Conscience?
I ran out of room for this vignette in Sunday’s sermon. Remember the quote that could be the headline for Ahab and Naboth: “All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” The following reinforces that truth.
The Cars Are Looking for A King
I don’t have a thing to add to Pastor Jessica’s excellent sermon this last Sunday. The fable/parable she shared has been one of my favorites for all the lessons she pulled from it in her message. I was playing around with my friend Chat GPT and after several abortive attempts, we came up with the following modernized version of Judges 9:7-15.
The Lost Benediction
Depending on the length of the sermon, I try to add a little something extra in my benedictions. This week I wrote up a benediction but then realized we’d be singing and waving our umbrellas to some New Orleans jazz.
Change of Focus This Week
Instead of sharing with you about yesterday’s sermon I’d like to invite you to do some background reading for next Sunday’s “Only Murders in the Bible.” Seeing that it is All Saints Day this Sunday, we are going to look at the very first Christian martyr, Stephen.
You Might Be Thinking It’s All About You If…
In working on Sunday’s sermon I asked my computer’s AI if she/he could come up with a few suggestions in answer to the above: "You Might be thinking it’s all about you, if…."
Prayer Changes Things
Here is a transcript of the prayer I prayed at the end of yesterday’s sermon.
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism: