09/22/2025
Here are some quotes that
didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon.
(But it doesn’t mean that they don’t offer real insight into the power of risk over the fear of failure. What is true for raising self-reliant and healthy children, just happens to be equally true for those of us who follow Jesus Christ.)
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly
find out how far one can go.”
— T. S. Eliot
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
— John A. Shedd
“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see
the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
“Security is mostly a superstition…
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
— Helen Keller
Peter’s walk on water tells us that faith begins where our comfort zone ends.
- You might think of the boat as the promise of security.
- The wind and the waves represent risk and uncertainty.
- And Jesus’ outstretched hand reminds us that even when we falter, the power of God is stronger than the storm.
Archived Posts
One More Piece of Unsolicited Advice
I had one too many examples yesterday. Here’s the "Ask Pastor Tim" scenario that didn’t make the cut for Sunday’s sermon: (read more)
Not If, But When, the Crisis Comes
One of the best Bible commentators alive today is N.T. Wright or Tom Wright. When reflecting on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens, he wrote this:...
What I wanted to say
but ran out of time this Sunday
Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video.
The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness
I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online. Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week. What follows is an example of those discussions...
One Final Scene About Scrooge
There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.