This is my 17th Easter Sermon, and I still find it tricky. We come to this moment each year with a crescendo of hope and excitement, but also with a great theological burden. What happened? Was the tomb of Jesus really empty? Was the resurrection a physical resuscitation of the body, or an apparition seen … Continue reading John 20:1-18 “The Great Resurrection”
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Small Group Resources
Laity Empowerment Program Resources for cirriculum Cokesbury UCC Resources
Clearing the Tumbleweeds
Lately Bloomingcactus has been more like tumble weeds. Last week I surveyed my blog site and found the weeds had grown on it. Spam was everywhere. Apparently advertisers seem to think I have the perfect site to sell mail order psychotropic drugs, pain medications, knock-off purses and watches, and various accoutrements to improve your sex … Continue reading Clearing the Tumbleweeds
For God So Loved the 1 Percent … – NYTimes.com
The concept of “one nation under God” has a noble lineage, originating in Abraham Lincoln’s hope at Gettysburg that “this nation, under God, shall not perish from the earth.” After Lincoln, however, the phrase disappeared from political discourse for decades. But it re-emerged in the mid-20th century, under a much different guise: corporate leaders and … Continue reading For God So Loved the 1 Percent … – NYTimes.com
Happy MLK Day!
Truth comes from surprising places. The following exert comes from Phil Davis, a hedge fund trader with a social conscience. There are classic quotes, plus video and commentary worth reading today. bloomingcactus Happy Martin Luther King Day! It's Martin Luther King day so the markets are closed. It's a good day to read his … Continue reading Happy MLK Day!
Touchdown Theology
Does that pastor really think God is sitting up in Heaven on a Barcalounger, with a beer, a bratwurst and a Bronco's jersey, handing out touchdowns? Do God and Jesus support the same team? And if not, then which team does the Holy Spirit work through? Does Mary, the sports fan, sit glued to the … Continue reading Touchdown Theology
Epiphany Preaching
By the time you read this article, we will probably be somewhere between the eight maids a milking and the twelve drummers drumming in the days of Christmas. New Year’s revelry will be over and the credit card hangover begins for those who over-indulged in Christmas spirit. For many churches, this is the season of … Continue reading Epiphany Preaching
Luke 12:13-21 – Greed is Good?!
Greed is good! This phrase was popularized 20 years ago in the movie Wall Street, where Michael Douglas played Gordon Gekko, who liked to merge companies for his profit and the employee’s nightmare. The movie was meant to be an indictment and warning against Wall Street greed, but instead Gordon Gekko became a hero to many who would now eat him for breakfast. Many people are now calling big bankers “banksters.” Now we are in such as mess and learning the lesson that greed is not good, rather it is wrecking our country.
Matthew 13:25-30 – Wheat and Tares – for Sunday, July 17, 2005
I learned more about weeds than I ever wanted to know as a boy in Iowa. Walking through the soybean feels to cut out the weeds was my summer job from age 13. A wise farmer once taught me that all weeds were not the same and could not be destroyed in the same way. … Continue reading Matthew 13:25-30 – Wheat and Tares – for Sunday, July 17, 2005
Matthew 13:25-30 – Wheat and Tares – for Sunday, July 17, 2005
I learned more about weeds than I ever wanted to know as a boy in Iowa. Walking through the soybean feels to cut out the weeds was my summer job from age 13. A wise farmer once taught me that all weeds were not the same and could not be destroyed in the same way. … Continue reading Matthew 13:25-30 – Wheat and Tares – for Sunday, July 17, 2005
With all my soul 