Presby-Musings

Today I'm going to be continuing the sermon series, "In The Beginning" a sermon series from Genesis chapters 1-3, the Story of Creation.   Last week we learned what it means to be created in the image of God, which is how the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Scriptures describes it.   In this, the third installment of this four-part series, we are going to be digging into a fascinating part of this story---the part of the story where God creates humans and then gives them a job.   Let's read Genesis 2:15-20 1 5 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the grou...

This week we are launching a brand new sermon series, entitled "In The Beginning." This four-part series will take us through the first three chapters of Genesis---the story of Creation.   I am going to say something extremely shocking.  You will be blown away by this. Are you ready?   "Lots of Christians have different interpretations and opinions about these first three chapters of the Bible."   Shocking right?  I know.  I'm being sarcastic, of course.  We all know that Genesis chapters 1-3 has become a battleground of sorts when it comes to the debate between Science and Faith in Christian culture.   And here's something else that's important for us to point out.  Some people read these first few chapters of Genesis and then give up on really wanting to know more about the rest of the Bible because they struggle to understand it.   Before we dive into the story of Creation together, however, I want to share some things wi...

I posted up in the best spot in the coffee shop where I am writing today.  I'm sitting in a comfy chair overlooking the roof of the building next door--a roof that is entirely covered in plants.   Seriously, the entire roof is covered in native Texas Hill Country, drought-resistant plants, and it's beautiful.  As I am sitting here, I can't help but wonder about the creative impulse that preceded the decision to put plants on a roof.   At some point in the process of designing that building, someone floated the idea that the roof just might be a place where certain plants could thrive, and wouldn't that be an awesome way of utilizing what is ordinarily wasted space that simply radiates heat.   So, they filled the whole roof with plants.  I know there is a lot of debate happening right now in our culture about the environment. I've also realized that Christians seemed just as divided on environmental issues as everybody else.  But here's t...

This week I'll be continuing the sermon series entitled, " Hot Button : Grace Filled Responses to the Things That Divide Us."  The premise behind this sermon series was to actually talk about some of the more difficult and divisive issues in our culture, and to do it through a Biblical lens, with a whole lot of grace. As I said last week, I need a lot of work in this area, just as much as anyone else I suppose.  I am also aware that not everything I say will be received with the same grace within which I am hopefully offering it. Herein lies the dilemma for most preachers:  Say what God has laid on your heart to say, and surrender the outcome, or keep sticking your finger in the air to test the winds of disquiet that might be blowing from that one person who probably doesn't like you anyway and will take half of what you said out of context, and misrepresent it. So, to all those preachers who are tired of walking around like a human weather vane I have this to...