Faithful Imaginations - Isaiah 65:17-25 - Easter 5 - 4-28-24

 

Sermon podcast from the Sunday 4-28-24 worship service - Peace Memorial Church, UCC in Palos Park, IL. Isaiah 65:17-25

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"Faithful Imaginations" sermon podcast

The whole worship service

Infinite - Isaiah 65:17-25 - Pentecost 23 - 11-13-22

 

Sermon podcast from the Sunday, 11-13-22 worship service - St. Paul's UCC in Downers Grove, IL. Isaiah 65:17-25

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"Infinite" podcast

The whole worship service

Infinite

I wasn't at church this week, so I helped our congregational president Rick Rockershousen put together this sermon from Isaiah 65:17-25.  The possibilities are infinite indeed!

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"Infinite" 'podcast

Faithful Imaginations

Sermon podcast from yesterday at St. Paul's UCC in Downers Grove, IL.  Isaiah 65:17-25. Part of our Season of Visioning.
"Faithful Imaginations" podcast

Infinite

Today's sermon podcast from St. Paul's UCC in Downers Grove, IL.
"Infinite" podcast

Creating

This week's Lego-themed Bible reflection (Motorcycle) is part of the beginning of this week's sermon at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Downers Grove, IL.
"Creating" podcast

Motorcycle

I used to love to build things with Legos.  I created buildings, cars, boats, planes, rockets, campsites, action figures, trees, and even swimming pools.

OK – not all of that is true.  I did build all those things and many more creations with Legos.  But to say I used to love them isn’t completely accurate.  I still love them.

I’m making a Lego motorcycle as I write this.  Really. I used to ride a motorcycle, but it wasn't nearly as cool as this one. . .

Creating is refreshing.  It’s energizing.  It’s wonderful.

Seeing something you create destroyed and devastated is awful.  It is painful and frustrating.

And, remembering the painful destruction, a re-creative hope is again wonderful.

Isaiah 65:17-25 expresses a re-creative hope after pain and anguish over destruction.  It speaks of hope for the people who had lost so much in the time it was written.  I think it's purpose still is to inspire a re-creative hope.

Imagine what the possibilities ahead are.  They are endless and they are delightful.

And I think this motorcycle is delightful, too.

Creating

This week's conversation-starting blog post (Legos) introduces the subject of creativity, and then Sunday's sermon at Union Congregational UCC in Somonauk journeys through speaking, listening, and hope, too!

"Creating" text
"Creating" podcast

Legos

Here's this week's Bible study post:

I used to love to build things with Legos.  Buildings, cars, boats, planes, rockets, campsites, action figures, trees, even swimming pools.

OK – not all of that is true.  I did build all those things and many more creations with Legos.  But to say I used to love them isn’t completely accurate.  I still love them.

I’m making a Lego truck as I write this.  Really.

Creating is refreshing.  It’s energizing.  It’s wonderful.

Seeing something you create destroyed and devastated is awful.  It is painful and frustrating. 

And, remembering the painful destruction, a re-creative hope is again wonderful.

Isaiah 65:17-25 expresses a re-creative hope in the midst of pain and anguish over destruction.  It spoke of hope for the people who had lost so much in the time it was written.  It inspires a re-creative hope in readers still today.

It calls us to see what possibilities God has in store.  They are endless and they are delightful.

And I think this truck is delightful, too.

Illogical and Ridiculous

Here's the sermon from our Prairie Association Spring Meeting 2008 closing worship and installation of our Prairie Association Minister Kathy Lawes. The group was pretty riled up, too! (This sermon should also be subtitled: The Sorry Ass Sermon)
"Illogical and Ridiculous" text
"Illogical and Ridiculous" podcast

Lions and wolves and lambs -- oh my!

Silly, whimsical, ridiculous and serious. That's what this morning's sermon at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Somonauk was. It was an expansion of this week's early blog post for i.ucc. (Together)
"Lions and wolves and lambs -- oh my!" text
"Lions and wolves and lambs -- oh my!" podcast

Together

Here's this week's Bible Study blog entry for i.ucc.org

This week’s Bible reading from Isaiah 65:17-25 makes me think and dream of peace.

Six years ago, Ken Medema played music and was the keynote speaker at the Fox Valley Association, Illinois Conference, United Church of Christ fall meeting (did I do the title right?) at St. Matthew United Church of Christ in Wheaton, Illinois. The theme of the meeting (where we also installed Rev. Cheryl Burke as Fox Valley Association minister) was “Unity in Diversity.”

The meeting wasn’t so much about trying to bring about unity in the United Church of Christ, (though it recognized that we needed it then as we need it now,) but rather Ken focused on words to help all to remember that we (everyone!) can come together on issues we agree about.

• People should have enough to eat.
• People should have places to live.
• People should have access to medical care.
• All People should be treated with the same decency and respect.
  

And in that kind of unity I hear the last line of our Bible reading this week:

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD."

And then I think of those I might think of as the wolves, lambs, lions and oxen and I know that we all can find common ground to serve God together.

And then I think about serpents and I hope that instead of looking at anyone as evil, I can look at hate for others as the serpent that will only get to eat dust.

I see this reading as one that looks forward to at time of peace on earth.

What does this week's Bible reading make you think of?