UCC First Congregational Church of Elgin Sermons

I'M BORED

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:11:08 GMT

With the children home from school for the summer, I suspect that many parents have had to endure that whine of “I’m bored!” As a teacher I hated those two words, “I’m bored.” My response was there is always something interesting to learn.

H...

THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:16:26 GMT

Tucked away in my file is a cartoon I found many years ago showing a pastor behind the pulpit on a Sunday morning, but instead of wearing a robe or a business suit he is dressed in a full suit of medieval armor, and he’s saying to the congregation, “My sermon today is titled ‘Divorce and Re-marriage...

THE TRUE RELIGION

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 11:59:03 GMT

I have long been a fan of American author Mark Twain, but I am under no illusions about his religious beliefs. He was, at best, an agnostic who never tired of poking fun at religions of all stripes. He once wrote, “Man is a religious animal. He is the only religious animal. H...

KEEPING LOVE ALIVE

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:44:10 GMT

For Christmas somebody gave me one of those day-at-a-time desk calendars called “The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said.” Looking at the stupid quote of the day has been brightening my mornings all year. Evidently some church somewhere was reminding worshippers about procedures for weddings ...

THE WRATH OF GOD

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:27:34 GMT

A few years ago a bunch of us from here were on a retreat out at Pilgrim Park and at one point the retreat leader gave us all paper and markers and said, “I want you to draw the image of God you had as a child.” And my first thought was, “How do you draw fear?” because that was what I remember...

TOXIC RELIGION, TOXIC LIFE

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:11:54 GMT

I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or what, but there are some things I just don’t have patience for anymore. I’m tired of the fashion police telling me what I should wear. I’m tired of the food Gestapo telling me what I should eat. I’m tired of TV and radio stations te...

CONQUERING CLUTTER

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:23:40 GMT

The man of the house was a hospice patient, and as hospice chaplain, I went to make my first call at the home. The nurse and the social worker had both told me what the place looked like, but there were no words to describe this. That small Chicago-style bungalow was more stuffed than an...

CREATOR, REDEEMER, SUSTAINER

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 11:38:05 GMT

When I was a hospice chaplain, one of the nurses I worked with was a lovely woman named Carol whom I dearly loved. She had been raised in a very conservative minister’s home, but in her adult years she had become a Unitarian, a member of the famous Unity Temple, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,...

HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?

Mon, 17 May 2010 16:22:30 GMT

I saw it as I pulled my car into a parking space outside the post office just down the street. It was the same thing I had seen in front of several other post offices in other towns close by: a table loaded down with brochures and pamphlets, a person — in this case a woman — behind the table t...

GO-BETWEEN

Mon, 10 May 2010 17:48:37 GMT

I miss having the offices of the Fox Valley Association of the United Church of Christ upstairs in our building. I enjoyed seeing Patti Scroggins every day. I also enjoyed spending time with Association Minister Jonathan Knight. He’s a very bright man with a tough job, and having h...