A Noble Theme

Hespeler, 28 October, 2018 © Scott McAndless – Baptism Galatians 3:23-4:7, Psalm 78:1-8, Mark 9:33-37 O ne day, when his disciples were being kind of awful with each other – when they were arguing and fighting with each other because this one thought that he knew exactly how things ought to be done and was frustrated that no one else would listen to him and that one thought that the other guy over there wasn’t giving him the respect he deserved and then there was this other one who totally hated all of the songs that the other guys would sing when they walked down the road – anyways I don’t really want to get into it but they were being kind of typical for them honestly and so Jesus decided to do something that would help them to see what was really important about what it was that they were doing together.       So this is what Jesus did. He said to the disciples, hang on for a minute guys because I need to show y...

Hespeler, 14 October, 2018 © Scott McAndless John 20:19-29, Acts 20:7-12, Psalm 16:1-11 I f there is one thing you need to know about Simon, it is this. He loves Apple. I’m not talking about the fruit here; I’m talking about the company. Simon doesn’t just like Apple products, Simon doesn’t just exclusively use Apple products. Apple products give meaning to his entire life.       I mean, you probably know some people who always have the latest and greatest model of the iPhone ® , who you never see without the ends of Apple Earpods ® hanging out of their ears, who do all of their work on a Macbook Pro ® , read and create with an iPad ® and an Apple Pencil ® , but I’m not just talking about that. For Simon that is only the beginning. He does that almost without having to think about it.       No, Simon goes out of his way to make sure that every part of his life bears the Apple logo on it. His entire home is r...

Hespeler, 7 October, 2018 © Scott McAndless Communion, Thanksgiving Genesis 1:27-2:3, Matthew 12:1-14, Psalm 92:1-15 I t was late on the sixth day when the Lord God turned to the newly created humanity and said unto them, “ Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And the Lord God said to Godself, since this responsibility for the Earth has now been passed on to the humans, then I declare that this work of creation is finished. What more do I need to do? The humans can be in charge. I’m sure that will all work out fine. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.       And very truly did humanity hear that command and they said one unto another, “Okay, you heard the Creator, we’ve got some work to do! There is a whole world out there to have dominion over and t...

Hespeler, 30 September, 2018 © Scott McAndless Exodus 32:1-8, 15-24, Romans 1:18-23, Psalm 135:1-5, 14-21 T he Bible tells us that, even while Moses was up on the top of Mount Sinai and receiving the Ten Commandments and the Law from the very hand of God, the people of Israel were down below breaking one of them – breaking it hard. That commandment was the second one, the one that said, “ You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”       Even as God was dictating (or inspiring or however it was actually transmitted) that law, Aaron was apparently hard at work melting down gold and molding it into the form of a calf, a beast that is found on the earth beneath. God, we are told, was not pleased. In fact, God was so angry that he was willing to wipe out the entire nation right there and then...