Last fall a member of our congregation brought to my attention a report from GfK Custom Research, a noted market research organization. They released results from a 2005 study of various values that Americans hold dear. The report was intended to inform product and service providers about purchasing motivation, advertising strategies and marketing messages. However, the list of values intrigued me as tangible expressions of what Christian living can create and cultivate. So, in worship during the season of Epiphany we’ll look closer at these values in ascending order of rank from 7th to 1st: Stable Relationships, Justice, Friendship, Health and Fitness, Freedom, Family and Honesty.
Isaiah 62: 1-5 A Sermon Preached by Dan Johnson on 1/14/07 We continue our Epiphany worship series inspired by a report from GfK Custom Research about a 2005 study of various values that Americans hold dear. The report was intended to inform marketing strategies for businesses, but the list of values are intriguing expressions of what Christian living can create and cultivate. So, in worship during the season of Epiphany we’re looking closer at these values in ascending order of rank: Stable Relationships, Justice, Friendship, Health and Fitness, Freedom, Family and Honesty. If these are the top seven values Americans are seeking these days, how can our faith and our church provide the mentoring and the means we need to develop these values in our daily lives?
1 Corinthians 12:14-26 A Sermon Preached by Dan Johnson on 1/21/07 We continue our Epiphany worship series inspired by a report from GfK Custom Research about a 2005 study of various values that Americans hold dear. The report was intended to inform marketing strategies for businesses, but the list of values are intriguing expressions of what Christian living can create and cultivate. So, in worship during the season of Epiphany we’re looking closer at these values in ascending order of rank: Stable Relationships, Justice, Friendship (today), Health and Fitness, Freedom, Family and Honesty. If these are the top seven values Americans are seeking these days, it seems important to reflect on how our faith and our church can help develop these values in our daily lives.
For six weeks our worship services have referenced a marketing survey about top-ranked values that Americans hold dear. During this season of Epiphany we’ve reflected from a faith perspective about stable relationships, justice, friendship, health and fitness and freedom. Next week we’ll look at the top ranked value of honesty and today we focus on the theme of family including input submitted from a number of you about the topic. Family is often in the public eye. Like the family of Lisa Marie Nowak – talented aeronautical engineer, Navy pilot, space shuttle astronaut, loving daughter, mother and wife who recently assaulted a woman who was vying for the affections of another astronaut whom Nowak coveted as her boyfriend. Family is often in the pubic eye.
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2This morning we conclude our worship series on top ranked values among Americans. The international marketing firm GfK Custom Research has been doing this survey of values annually since 1997 and for the first time, honesty was ranked #1 with the long standing top value of family dropping to the #2 spot. 79% of Americans now say honesty is an extremely/very important value to them, a 10% increase since the inception of this study. Interestingly, Brazil is the only other country of the 30 surveyed that also ranked honesty as their top value.
I remember day dreaming when I was just starting out in my career, how as a young soldier I jockeyed for promotion as an officer of Imperial Rome. I envisioned myself riding to victory after victory with Caesar’s conquering legions. I pondered how my men and I would fight for justice everywhere and bring enlightenment and prosperity to the uncivilized subjects of our realm. Even this assignment to a remote outpost in Jerusalem I hoped to turn into an opportunity for service to others and recognition for myself. But today, I don’t know. Something’s going on that just doesn’t feel right. I can’t talk to my commander; I certainly can’t approach Pontius Pilate.
I was swept up in two parades this week. Both held the same figure as the center of attraction. The first parade was one of exuberant welcome last Sunday. The popular teacher Jesus, came riding through the main gate of Jerusalem just as it was foretold that the messiah would come to us. I didn’t know much about Jesus or about Jewish prophecy, but I was sure up for anyone who would come and deliver me from the constant hassles of living as a subject of Rome. I got caught up in the emotion of the moment. The crowd was shouting “Hosanna”, and I did too! The crowd was cutting palm branches from the trees and waving them to usher this new king into our city, and I did too! You know the problem with palms?
(BECKY FROM OFF-STAGE) From the beginning of time my creation was intended for the purpose of relationship. From wood ticks to woodchucks, from swordfish to swordtails, from pineapples to pine trees, from nursing babies to nursing homes I seek the interdependence of all and the desire of all to freely unite with me. Yet in their freedom to pursue their own desires, the very creatures with greatest potential for intimacy are the creatures that so frequently divide with enmity!
As a Pharisee, I was steeped in Jewish tradition and law. I have to admit, I’m pretty bright and energetic and I know how to work the system. Eventually I was elevated to membership within the Sanhedrin. This council of seventy key Jewish rulers has significant power, commands unqualified respect and is considered to be the pinnacle of success for a religious professional. But the more I fill my life with work, the emptier I feel. I start to dream about what life might be like if only I’d made different choices. Of course it’s only dreaming, because the choices have already been made and I’m so far down one path that there is now no other road to travel.
Pastor James Harnish of Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida tells the story of a little boy who was not exactly happy about going to church on Easter Sunday morning. His new shoes were too tight, his tie pinched his neck and the weather was just too beautiful to be cooped up inside ... As he sulked in the back seat of the car, his parents heard him mutter: “I don’t know why we have to go to church on Easter, anyway; they keep telling the same old story and it always comes out the same in the end!”
One of our local celebrities, Prince, is performing here in the Twin Cities on 7/7/07 to herald the release of his new fragrance, 3121. For $250 you can attend an intimate concert with 1,400 fans on the eighth floor of Macys Department Store followed by a public concert that evening at Target Center. You’ll also receive a sample of his new perfume. Tickets went on sale a week ago Friday morning and people started camping out in line on Nicollet Mall Thursday afternoon. Scalpers wasted no time putting these instantly scarce tickets up for sale on the internet for as much as $1,200 apiece!
Scripture: Luke 7:36-50, A father passing by his son’s bedroom, was astonished to see the bed was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, “Dad.” Fearing the worst, he opened the envelope and read the letter, with trembling hands.
(Scripture: Luke 11:1-4) PREPARATION Luke 11:1, You’ve probably noticed that our order of worship is a bit different today. I’ve structured the service in the order of themes depicted by phrases of The Lord’s Prayer as recorded in verses 1-4 of the 11th chapter of the gospel of Luke. Verse 1 focuses us on preparation and reads, “Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” The disciples of Jesus longed for the same sense of intimacy and connection with God that they witnessed in the disciples of John the Baptist.
To and from work, you drive I-35W through the city twice a day, a couple hundred times a year. You drive it so often surrounded by rush hour traffic that you no longer even notice that part of your route passes some 60 feet over the Mississippi River. Or you’re heading to meet extended family for dinner like you have so many times before and find yourself late and crawling along in traffic on that same stretch of road. Or as a construction worker you’ve endured another hot day of Minnesota road maintenance, with impatient motorists shouting drive by obscenities over their inconvenience while you simply look forward to finishing your shift and heading home to family. Or on a whim, just this once, you decide to take the highway instead of the road less traveled.
Ole and Lena were sitting down to their usual cup of morning coffee listening to the weather report coming over the radio. “There will be three to five inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the odd- numbered side of the streets.” Ole got up from his coffee and mumbles, “For Pete’s sake, Okay”. A few days later, again they both are sitting down with their cups of morning coffee and the weather forecast is two to four inches of snow with another snow emergency declared.
This program year in worship we’ll be addressing the overarching theme of “Finding Our Way”. Our worship committee and staff spent a great deal of time capturing an image of the individual spiritual journeys we are on and our collective commitment to move in a common direction and support each other on the path. For each liturgical season throughout the year we’ve selected a sub theme and accompanying symbol. They all appear on the beautiful banner in the narthex stairwell created by members and friends of our worship committee. Matching bulletin covers are also being created for continuity. This fall, we start our process of finding our way with a walk through the Gospel of Luke.
This program year in Sunday worship we’re addressing the overarching theme of “Finding Our Way”. A banner hangs in the narthex stairwell reminding us of this spiritual journey we are on together including symbols for milestones along the way. This fall, we start our process of finding our way with a walk through the Gospel of Luke. As we reflect on the biblical history of Jesus’ life and ministry, may HIS story, become OUR story. “Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them. Leave them alone and they will come home, wagging their tails behind them.” The popular children’s nursery rhyme “Little Bo Peep” can be traced back in oral tradition to the latter half of the 1800’s.
A month ago I was interviewed for an article in the Source section of the Star Tribune on the value of men having friendships. The quotes precipitated several phone calls, e-mails and notes from people around the Twin Cities, men and women alike who resonated with the need for friends. Among those responses was a letter I received a few weeks ago from the Sherburne County Jail. A man whom I will refer to as “Ray” described the white collar crime for which he was convicted and imprisoned, and then goes on to reflect, “Needless to say, Pastor Dan, I have had ample time to reflect on my life, the choices I’ve made – including the people I considered friends and the path that led me to where I am today.
Each Wednesday night our confirmation class begins with a ten-minute small group discussion of the scripture passage for the coming Sunday. It teaches youth how to use the Bible for devotional reflection and preps them for the next worship theme. Two common questions emerged last Wednesday night about our passage from Luke 17, “What are lepers?” And, “What are Samaritans?” So for all of us, I’ll begin with a brief answer to both. Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is a chronic bacterial disease of the peripheral nerves and the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom. Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes.
Hannah Montana has come and gone, but the hype persists. For those who aren’t a ticket scalper or don’t know a pre-teen girl, you may not be aware of the sold-out concert at the Target Center last Sunday night. Miley Cyrus is the 14 year old star of the hit Disney Channel series, “Hannah Montana”. Her character leads a dual life as a rock star and an ordinary school girl and Cyrus’ Best of Both World’s Tour features both personas.
Back in the 1980’s, Catherine Ryan Hyde was driving alone at night in a rough area of downtown Los Angeles. Her aging Datsun 1200 stalled at the head of a freeway ramp and then the passenger compartment started to fill with smoke. She was forced to step out of her car in that dangerous neighborhood and immediately saw two men running at her, one carrying an open blanket he’d pulled from the trunk of his car. Catherine thought to herself, “I’m dead.” Then the two men ran right past her, pulled open the hood of her car and smothered the flames with the blanket. The fire department arrived quickly, called by another motorist. When the emergency was under control, Catherine went to thank those two men, but they were gone.
Throughout the fall, our Sunday worship walked through the gospel of Luke as we sought to make the story of Jesus’ life and ministry – his story, our story. Last Sunday, Becky Sechrist’s sermon ended that season of Pentecost with the scripture passage on the crucifixion and death of Christ. Today, the very next week, all four of the lectionary readings (which are incorporated into our service) anticipate the new birth of a Messiah. Staring down death and then pausing long enough to ready ourselves for a new birth…that’s a curious juxtaposition – an awkward transition; and yet real nonetheless.
We wait for a variety of different people and organizations to provide a positive influence and a constructive direction for our lives:
• We invest phenomenal resources of time, energy and money into youth athletics, waiting for the adult mentoring and team camaraderie to shape our children. And then the arrest last week of a girl’s high school hockey coach for a sexual relationship with a 16 year-old team member leaves us wanting even of physical safety.
• We look to elected leaders to place concern for their constituencies ahead of partisan loyalties, waiting for issues of energy and health care and education and environment to be addressed. And then we watch the congressional session come to a close in incapacitating impasse.
With detail Matthew records the first dramatic action of Jesus' ministry - his baptism at the hands of John. Galilee was not a great place from which to hail. It housed too many different kinds of people with suspicious backgrounds to make it a prestigious address. Yet Matthew begins his baptismal narrative by reminding readers that Galilee was Jesus’ home - a fact that makes John’s confession all the more startling. Matthew 3:1-11 carefully presents John the Baptist as a serious, prophetic figure, his life and work foretold by Isaiah, his mission carried out with zeal and authority. John’s baptism wasn’t a nice, nurturing sacrament like we conduct for infants here at the font. John was confronting people at the river bank and dunking them to cleanse them of their sins.
Last week we celebrated all the babies born into our church family over the past year with a ritual of infant recognition. Following worship we held a very lively brunch for families with preschool age children. Forty-two people were in attendance and half were infants and toddlers! I inquired of one of the expectant couples whether they had a name picked out for their upcoming addition. The mom replied, “Well, we have some good ideas, but we’ll wait to see what the baby looks like when he was born.” Parents often wrestle with the whole naming process because it’s not just a description of outward appearance, but of a lifelong personal identity.
The season of Lent began this past week on Ash Wednesday, February 6th. If you think it’s early this year, it is. Because of the timing of Easter set by the vernal equinox and the lunar cycle, Lent is about as early as it gets! Our Sunday worship continues to develop our year long theme of “Finding Our Way” with the Lenten theme, “Looking Both Ways”. We’ll be looking both ways by focusing on common themes in both the Old Testament and New Testament readings each week. We’ll be looking both ways as we reflect back on the meaning of these ancient scriptures in their time and reflect forward on their meaning for our lives today.
Leonid Brezhnev was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and de facto ruler of the USSR from 1964 to his death in 1982. He served in that position longer than anyone other than Joseph Stalin. Brezhnev held the lid on underground religion and was a central figure in the Cold War conflict of power and values between East and West. Then Vice President George H.W. Bush represented the United States at the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev. Bush recalls being deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. Viktoria stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed.
The people of Israel successfully escaped slavery in the land of Egypt. In Exodus 17, they were in the wilderness and found themselves oppressed by new problems. The water supply dwindled and disappeared. Thirst quickly grew from a desire to a desperate need. The parched throats of the Israelites became the instruments for grumbling against Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and cattle in this arid desert?” What did Moses do? He called on God for help and from a rock that Moses struck, fresh drinking water began to flow. Their question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” was answered.
Snow White is a lot older than she looks! Versions of this fairy tale date all the way back to the Middle Ages. Around 1800, the Brothers Grimm gave us the story line we know today and of course the characters have been polished by the modern Disney machine. But consistent through the centuries has been the wicked stepmother’s vanity. Day after day she boldly, but with a hint of paranoia, stepped before her magic mirror to admire herself and ask, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” And every morning that magic mirror concurred with the fair queen that the image reflected upon it was in fact the most beautiful in the kingdom.
Night of the Living Dead is a black and white horror film directed by George Romero and first released back in 1968. The plot revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and seven stranded characters trying to survive the night in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. The movie begins with two bickering siblings Johnny and Barbra driving to a remote cemetery to place a wreath on their father’s grave. Johnny humorously teases his sister with the classic line, “They’re coming to get you, Barbra!” With that fun turns to fear for the rest of the film and none of the protagonists escape death with most turning into flesh eating zombies during the course of the night!
Back in the early 90’s our family lived in Brooklyn Park. We had a large garden in the back corner of a half acre lot with plenty of soft topsoil. One May day I was out tilling the garden and my youngest son Andy, who was about six at the time, wanted to help so I gave him a shovel to turn over some soil. He was so enamored with digging holes that he wanted to continue even after I was done cultivating. I left him to play with his older brother Matt who also got a shovel to dig around in the garden. I was pleased that they were so diligent about breaking up the remaining clumps of dirt.
Polarized lenses are used in sunglasses to reduce glare from reflective surfaces such as the surface of a lake or the hood of a car or a concrete highway. They fulfill this function much like vertical blinds control sunlight through a window. Sunlight itself is not polarized - light from the sun will either be absorbed or polarized by the horizontal, diagonal or vertical surfaces it reflects off of. The problem this causes for activities like fishing and driving lies in the horizontal reflections off the water or car hood or road. Sunlight bounces off these horizontal surfaces, striking our eyes at a similar angle and creating strong glare. Polarized lenses have a laminated surface containing vertical stripes.
Kari Myers tells the story about a friend, an Episcopalian priest who was leading a tour of the Holy Land. He and his parishioners were bouncing along a lonely dirt road when their Palestinian driver slowed to a stop. A flock of sheep was blocking the road. Behind the sheep a man stood yelling and flogging them with a leather whip. He was trying to make them move on ahead. Dismayed, the priest commented to the driver, “This is contrary to everything I have ever read in the Bible about a shepherd. I thought a shepherd was supposed to lead and the sheep would follow.” The Arab driver smiled and said, “He’s not a shepherd. He’s the butcher!”
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renée Zellweger. Jerry Maguire is an “end of his rope” sports agent representing Rod Tidwell, a wide receiver with baggage. Dorothy Boyd is a loyal support staff whom Maguire initially marries out of convenience. For what it’s worth, Entertainment Tonight recently ranked Jerry Maguire as the #1 date movie of all time, in part because of the memorable dialogue between Cruise and Zellweger where he concludes a lengthy romantic plea with the statement, “You complete me.” And Zellweger replies, “You had me at ‘hello’”
I hope you’ve noticed the wonderful banner in the lobby stairwell. It was created and progressively updated by our worship committee throughout the course of our program year since last September. Each symbol on the banner represents a worship season during which we’ve examined a facet of our year long worship theme, Finding Our Way. Today we close our Easter series entitled, “There Are No Dead Ends”.
We can grasp the Easter claim of “No Dead Ends” because the story of an empty tomb is a graphic reminder that we simply turn a page and the story of Jesus continues! Six weeks later on this Ascension Sunday however, the gospels all come to an abrupt end and the claim of “No Dead Ends” carries some baggage that’s necessary to acknowledge.
Good Samaritan United Methodist Church is part of the reconciling movement.
We welcome and affirm all persons regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race,
or socioeconomic background. We seek to reconcile any differences that divide us.
Our Mission: We CARE--We are a Christian Community of Acceptance,
Reaching out to others and Engaging members in vital ministry.
