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Sermon: Dedicated

October 5, 2014 by Chad Herring Leave a Comment

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)

20140922_142743

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…]

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Filed Under: church life, faith, Jesus, presbyterian church (usa), relationships, sacrament, sermon

Sermon: Ancient Stories–Who Frees the Bound and the Hardened

September 7, 2014 by Chad Herring Leave a Comment

September 7, 2014 ~ Ancient Stories: Who Frees the Bound and Hardened from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on September 7, 2014.

Romans 13:8-14
and Exodus 12:1-14
(Click above link for the Scripture texts upon which this sermon is based)

 

The communion table constructed by the Rev. Shawna Bowman during and for the 2014 NEXT Church national gathering.

The communion table constructed by the Rev. Shawna Bowman during and for the 2014 NEXT Church national gathering.

 

They say that food is a great component of memory, or so I’ve read.

And I don’t know how true that is, but it seems to fit well enough with

my experiences to bear with it the ring of truth.

Just this week I was out at lunch

and I ordered a slice of pizza, from a Pizza Shoppe

you know, where they sell the pink stuff,

and my mind raced to the time that I had that very sort of Pizza

Pizza Shoppe pizza,

with my kids when they were around three years old

when they made a mess on the floor…

and with the youth group at my old church a couple of times

after their annual fall kick off pool party.

Come to think of it, they made a mess on the floor too.

Or I’ll be trying to remember something,

stuck in the crevasses of my mind,

and what I find myself honing in on is the food:

My grandmother’s house:

ever marked by the canned veggies and jams in mason jars

food she made from the supersized garden in the back yard.

Atlantic, Iowa, where I lived as a younger child:

Windsor Pork Chops and Lime Green Jello at church pot lucks.

That trip to San Francisco. Right.

Lets see: We ate the first day at a diner down the street

And we found a great Thai restaurant

and an incredible breakfast place

where they steamed the milk for the coffee

and had farm-fresh, artisanal sausages,

with their hash bake

And the signature activity,

the bike ride across town, to a few museums,

over the Golden Gate bridge

into Sausalito…

that bike ride lead us to a place aptly named Fish,

where we sipped a beer and ate some seafood

as the California Sun warmed us on the patio.

Wedding night: I didn’t actually eat at our reception,

I think I was too much in a fog,

but I remember the IHOP after it was all done

a first meal with Brook of our new life together…

Taste. Texture. Aroma. The stuff that makes food pleasurable, palatable,

these things, at least for me, maybe for you,

seem to spark connections with the past

the experiences, the memories, the stories,

that root me and ground me and that make me who I am.

Funny how mundane things, normal things, can carry such significance. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: church life, Religion, sacrament, sermon, worship

Chad Andrew Herring

Chad Herring

kairos :: creature of dust :: child of God :: husband of 21 years :: father of 2 :: teaching elder/minister of word and sacrament in the presbyterian church (u.s.a.) :: exploring a progressive-reformed – emergent-christianity :: more

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