To all of you who are accustomed to reading my weekly scribbling:
Apologies that last week’s message was late. Our mail server went down & we were not able to restore it until yesterday.
Now then! Here we are approaching the second Sunday in the season of Advent, and Christmas is a mere two-and-a-half weeks away. I want to invite you to come to worship this Sunday for some really great, warm & cozy, Currier and Ives pre-Christmas delight. The focus of the reading from Luke 3:1-6 is —
Read MoreI want to call your attention to two upcoming congregational meetings, and encourage everyone to attend. In a Presbyterian Church, congregational meetings are called by the Session when the authorization of active congregation members is for an action, or when important information regarding the life of the congregation needs to be shared.
In the case of the first meeting, set for Sunday, December 8, 2024, immediately after worship. The authorization the Session is seeking is to approve my (the pastor’s) terms of call and contract for 2025
Read MoreAfter 35 years serving as a pastor, I have observed a great deal about why people attend church. These observations are drawn from what people have told me about their own church-going and non-church-going. Among people’s reasons for going to church:
Read MoreFlying across the country the day after the election was an odd experience. Our flight to Newark on Wednesday morning was quiet, even subdued. Whether that was because everyone was stunned and sad, or pleased but respectful, I don’t know. But it was striking.
At the seminar I attended in Princeton, it became clear that everyone (about 60 attendees and six leaders) was sad and worried.
Read MoreI am writing this message on Election Day as I will be heading to Princeton Seminary tomorrow for a continuing education event. Therefore, this will be a message about things to look forward to at MBPPC!
First, on Sunday, November 24th, after worship we will decorate the sanctuary for Advent and Christmas. This is a fun event that everyone can take part in. We will have Christmas trees to set up, candles to place in the windows, wreaths and garlands to hang. If you want to be part of the fun, just stick around when the service is over and we will bring everything in to be set up. There is nothing more uplifting than the MBPPC sanctuary all decorated for Advent and Christmas!
Read MoreAs I am preparing this Sunday’s sermon, I am researching Psalm 46, and the Psalms in general. One thing I did not know is how frequently the word “refuge” appears in the Psalms. Out of more than 40 uses of the word “refuge” in the Hebrew Scriptures (aka The Old Testament), 35 are in the Psalms. That’s a high enough concentration to make the idea of “refuge” stand out.
Read MoreThe Swiss theologian Karl Barth said in 1966,
“Take your Bible and take your newspaper and read both. But interpret your newspapers from your Bible.”
Barth was a Swiss theologian and seminary professor who helped author a brilliant protest against the Nazi takeover of the Christian Church in Germany. This protest document is called The Barmen Declaration.
Read MoreDuring these days from October 6 to October 27, we are gathering the resources needed to sustain the ministry at MBPPC, and fulfill our mission for 2025. I strongly encourage everyone to take a Spiritual Giving packet from the back of the sanctuary, or ask Office Manager Clare Conrad to send you the materials — mbppc@mtbakerchurch.org
Here are two very important things to pray about and keep in mind for this year’s Spiritual Giving Campaign:
Read MoreThe annual MBPPC Spiritual Giving Campaign officially kicks off on Sunday, October 6th in worship. This is our annual time of committing our resources of money, time, and abilities to the ministry and mission at MBPPC. We hope to undergird all we do in 2025 with strong support from everyone.
To be more specific, our Spiritual Giving Campaign is the time when we prepare resources for these things:
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