church life — Page 9

Nov 2, 2014 ~ All Saints-Today & Tomorrow – the Body of Christ from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on November 02, 2014.

Matthew 14:13-21
and 1 Corinthians 12:4-27
(Click above link for the Scripture texts upon which this sermon is based)

Editorial note: I’m working on correcting spacing issues. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.

A sense of normalcy has returned, to our house at least.

The Royals made it to game seven, my good friends!
90 feet away even,
and even though they fell short
and even though they kept many of us up
way to late through the whole month of October, it was such a fun ride.
But their epic run is over:
the post-postseason naps have been taken
we got the orange out of storage again
just in time for Halloween
Even the weather seemed to change and the leaves started to fall
as if on cue from the good folks at foxsports.

Even without the Royals, November is always transitional months of sorts.
It is part of what makes November November.
I put away my razor for No-Shave-November,
I case you were wondering what this is all about.
Starbucks already has their holiday-cranberry-red cups in use
and someone told me that Christmas music is already playing in some places.
Way too early for my tastes, but not surprising.
I always wonder which stores can resist the urge to put up garland before Advent,
and I almost always lose.

Around these parts, the chill comes, fireplaces start to crackle.
I heard this week that the fountains outside the church door have been winterized,
and we’re thinking about mitten drives and coats for the coatless
and the snow that will drive the chill deeper into our bones.

It is a time for giving thanks, November.
For Harvest Dinners and family feasts.
It’s a time for pausing to take stock of all of God’s good gifts to us,
each of us personally
and God’s good gifts to us as a community. Gifts for the common good. [Read more…]

October 5, 2014 ~ “Dedicated” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on October 5, 2014.

Psalm 19
and Philippians 3:4b-14
(Click above link for the Scripture texts upon which this sermon is based)

What an exciting week for us at the Kirk.

///

This is true even if you’re not a Chiefs fan,

coming off a thrilling Monday Night Football victory.

In one of his more relevant sermons,

Rob Bell once preached about going to a Green Bay Packers game

one Sunday afternoon—a different sort of church, he called it

with its own rituals and hymns,

its own barbeque shared,

its own ways of making meaning.

Indeed, I’ve heard sports radio spots for a local pub

in a converted church in South Overland Park

calling its Sunday hours of operation “Sunday church”

where you can prepare yourself for the weekly game.

Its an exciting week even if you’re not a Royals fan,

though, if you are, then like me you’ve not slept much this week

after the thrilling victory-out-of-the-clutches-of-defeat

Tuesday night at the Wild-Card game

and then, of course, taking the first two games of the divisional playoff

against the team with the best record, in their own stadium,

all three games going well past their typical nine innings.

If I look tired, you might be able to guess why.

I was lucky enough to be at that wild card game,

where forty thousand fans

(forty thousand five hundred and two if you’re counting)

roared and hollered and almost willed the Royals to victory.

I didn’t know Kauffman could be that loud. My ears are still ringing.

And while I think they’re stretching the definition of the word

I’ve seen more than one person on facebook and twitter

calling that game a sacred, religious experience.

But you can sort of see what they’re trying to say:

when you gather that many people together

and they all share the same emotional journey

the highs, and the lows

in some sense they share something of family, of community.

Its not as deep, or as lasting,

as the sort of holding-in-our-heart we have been discussing

the fellowship of Christian love that marks life in Christ

and that Paul is trying to outline in this letter to the Philippians

but it is deeply moving nonetheless. [Read more…]

Sermon: All Saints–Today and Tomorrow, the Body of Christ

Sermon: Dedicated