Recent Sermons
from Revs. Janet and Jerry Duggins
From "Make a Joyful Noise with Your Gifts" based on Psalm 100 and 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 ~ July 4, 2010 - Cindy Green
Many have taken Psalm 100 as a way to be thankful to our Lord. Others treat this as a song of joyful praise. Of course there are many things to be thankful for and of course it sings with praise.
From "Bloom Where You Are Planted" based on Esther 4:8-14 ~ June 27, 2010 - Patti Corse
As I have been preparing for today’s message, I have had a few different topics floating around in my head, but hadn’t been able to come up with anything concrete for any of them. And then, out of nowhere is this wonderful story! So that’s how I came to decide on today’s scripture and message. This little story of Esther and Mordecai, who discover grace and strength in hard times, just might offer some grace and strength for us today.
From "Breathe" based on Psalm 150 and Genesis 2:4b-25 ~ April 25, 2010 - Rev. Jerry Duggins
I’ve
always associated breathing with life; not just with the life of the body, but also with the
life of the mind, and the life of the soul as well. Breath is for me the very
seat of creativity. Those who master the art of breathing are able to create
some extraordinary things.
Some say it takes a keen eye to reproduce beauty on canvas, or sensitive hands to create fine sculpture; but I believe that it is breath that gives life to art. My daughter has sometimes mentioned how important the right kind of breathing is for music, whether vocal or instrumental. But how many paintings began with a deep breath? Or what of those moments in the artistic process that required holding the breath? There are few activities or endeavors that cannot be improved by paying attention to the breath.
From "More Easter Story" based on John 21 ~ April 18, 2010 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins
Just as in the story we talked about last week from Luke’s gospel, in these scenes from John 21, we see Jesus’ disciples trying to step back into their old lives, their “before Jesus” lives. What’s really interesting here is that, according to John, these disciples have already seen the risen Jesus at least once or twice. I don’t know what was going on in their minds; perhaps they saw those couple of encounters as some sort of temporary, perhaps mystical, experience of comfort for them… a gift but not anything permanent.
From "Here at Emmaus" ~ based on Luke 24:13-35 ~ April 11, 2010 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins
One striking thing all the Jesus-after-Easter stories have in common is the very ordinariness of what they describe.
I mean, here it is, the evening of the first Easter. In the morning, Jesus ROSE FROM THE DEAD! The power of God, the power of love is so great in him that death, the most feared enemy of all, can’t hold him. It’s no wonder that an artist like Velaquez pictures him as the victorious hero of a great battle.
But now it’s evening, and what’s Jesus doing? He takes a little walk, engages in a bit of Bible study on the way, and sits down to a little supper.
From "Remembering Resurrection" based on Luke 24:1-12 ~ April 4, 2010 ~ Easter Sunday ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins
If I stand any chance of inviting you into the living presence of God this morning, I will need to touch something already there in your head, something from your experience. For you have known the living Christ. You have experienced God’s presence… somewhere… sometime. God has stood by you everyday, and there have been times when you recognized Christ’s presence.
"Contemplating Betrayal" based on Luke 22:1-5 ~ April 1, 2010 ~ Maundy Thursday ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins
Judas,
a name synonymous with treachery and betrayal. Numbered among the twelve and
entrusted with the common treasury, we struggle to get a clear picture of his
character and motivation. We know nothing of his part in the disciples’ debate
about who among them was the greatest. Was he the instigator? Did he argue the
merits for his own case or try to ride the coattails of Peter or James?
The
gospels offer no account of his calling. He simply appears on the list of the
twelve, no explanation for his selection by Jesus. He receives little mention
prior to his movements in betraying Jesus: just a complaint against Mary for
wasting precious oil.
From"Practicing our Faith: Justice" based on Jeremiah 21:11-14 and Luke 18:1-8 ~ March 21, 2010 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins
I want us to recognize that the practice of justice is not peripheral to the life of faith...justice is integral to the life of vital congregations. The church cannot relegate justice to the closet without seriously truncating its relationship to God. The writer of James remarks that “faith without works is dead.” We typically assume that he is writing about works of charity, but he might have been just as well writing about the work of justice. He speaks to both concerns in his letter.
From "Practicing our Faith: Reflection" based on Psalm 119:33-40,47-48 and Luke 13:10-20 ~ March 7, 2010 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins
Christians have
different ways of dealing with questions:
Some simply ignore the questions, and focus instead on faith as an emotional connection with God and our brothers and sisters.
For still others,
questions become a never-ending intellectual exercise, interesting but not
leading to anything as non-rational as worship or changing one’s life.
In these and a lot of other ways, the church has handled difficult questions by what amounts to separating the heart and the mind.
From "Practicing our Faith: Contemplation" based on Psalm 139 and Ephesians 3:14-20 ~ February 28, 2010 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins
Part of life in the 21st century is that we are surrounded in most of our waking hours with noise, real noise or the metaphorical “noise” of all the things that vie for our attention : tv, phones, ipods, radio, surround sound, advertising, traffic, crowds, our internet connections, people talking, people wanting something from us … even our own busy thoughts and worries.
Quiet stillness around us is rare; quiet stillness inside is probably even rarer.
It’s certainly not been a big part of Presbyterianism and similar Protestant traditions. We have been more about earnest activity and helping others, serious sermons and dignified worship, Bible study and sound theology, responsible stewardship and good church order. Most of us probably associate contemplation with other religious traditions more than our own.
Of course, in our culture, too, contemplation is not much valued. It looks an awful lot like doing nothing. It doesn’t appear to accomplish much.
From "Practicing our Faith: Discernment" based on Proverbs 2:1-11, and Luke 4:1-11 ~ February 21, 2010 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins
When
we practice discernment though, we remind ourselves that God is active in our
lives and cares deeply about what happens to us.
"Our decisions and our search for guidance take place
in the active presence of a God who intimately cares about our life situations
and who invites us to participate in the divine activities of healing and
transformation."
From "Practicing our Faith: Beauty" based on Psalm 19 and Luke 9:28-36 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ February 14, 2010
More and more these days, the church is awakening again to the power of beauty as spiritual practice.
From "Practicing our Faith: Healing" based on Psalm 103:1-14 and Luke 6:7-23 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ February 7, 2010
As with all the practices of faith, healing is for this life. Soul and body are intimately connected. We see this in all the healing stories in the NT. The Greek word which we translate as “to heal” also means “to save.” Healing stories are salvation stories. When we see body and soul linked like this, it enhances our appreciation both for the work of doctors and the “more spiritual” work of the church as it prays and supports those in need. Doctors should understand that when the medical cure works, they have done much more than mend a broken bone. They have set the injured person on a path toward wholeness. And on the “other” side of things, the deacon who prays with someone in the hospital does much more than offer spiritual solace but makes a genuine contribution to their physical well-being.
From "Practicing our Faith: Hospitality" based on Matthew 25:31-40 and Romans 12:3-13 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ January 31, 2010
If you book a vacation at a fancy hotel, a quaint Bed & Breakfast inn, or Disney World… you will be promised, and probably will experience “warm hospitality.” It may be something you need and it may be restorative and enjoyable, but it will be temporary. And of course, you will pay for it! (And, very likely, the warmer it is, the more you’ll pay.) That’s how it is in what we now term “the hospitality industry.”
Hospitality as it’s practiced in the community of faith is an altogether different matter – not a commodity available only to those with money to pay, but a welcome for strangers, even and especially those who are the neediest.
From "Practicing our Faith: Diversity" based on Acts 10:1-35 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 27 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ January 24, 2010
The scriptures really should leave us in no doubt: God is not interested in uniformity! God, after all, created the amazing diversity that we see in the world and in human beings.
From "Practicing our Faith: Worship" based Psalms 24 & 148 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ January 17, 2010
I will acknowledge that people attend worship for a great variety of reasons. Some to find refreshment for the busy week to come; some to learn more about their faith or the scripture; some to enjoy the fellowship; and some for many other reason. But it seems almost too obvious to say that the primary reason to come to worship is… well… to worship. And yet, I wonder how often we leave the service without asking whether we did in fact worship God.
From "Practicing our Faith: Testimony" based on Isaiah 52:7-10 and Luke 3:15-22 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ January 10, 2010
Tom Long puts it this way. “Faithful preaching is not
story time; it is instead the spoken word at the epicenter of a community of
courageous testimony.” Among the things that this kind of preaching models, Long
lists “the gospel-storied shape of the lives of people who will talk to their
children about their faith and bear witness in the world to the overwhelming
generosity of God”.
I cannot imagine a church, faithful to its calling, that did not practice at least informally, testimony. In personal conversations, group discussion, in the hymns and songs we sing, we do bear witness to God’s generosity. But what if we were more intentional about this practice? Would our guests see us as a “community of courageous testimony?” Would we find it easier to “shape our lives by the gospel?” Could it be the key to moving beyond institutional maintenance to thriving as a part of the body of Christ in this time and place? Imagine how rooted we might feel in this chaotic world if we were constantly reminded of how our story is grounded in the timeless story of God’s generosity in the world.
From "New Year's Resolutions for Wise Men and Women" based on Matthew 2:1-11 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ January 3, 2010
I always think it’s too bad that in our culture and in our part of the Christian tradition, we don’t make a big deal of Epiphany. For most people, it seems that Christmas comes to an end kind of abruptly after the New Year’s Eve party or on the morning of the 26th, or maybe even as soon as the last gift is opened… then it’s all over for another year. The decorations come down and get packed away and we find ourselves – maybe with relief, maybe with regret – back in the ordinary routine.
That’s a shame, because without some transition or connection it’s kind of hard to take anything of Christmas or its meaning with us into the routine of the new year. The meaning of Christmas almost seems to get packed away with the lights and the nativity scene. But Epiphany offers just that transition.
You get a clue to that when you know what Epiphany means. It’s got nothing to do with a conclusion to the Christmas season, but means ”revealing.” Almost as if to say, “NOW we really start to see what it’s all about.”
From "Advent Awareness: Awe" based on Micah 5:2-5a and Luke 1:39-49 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ December 20, 2009
Awe is described as an emotion comparable to ‘wonderful’ but with less of an element of joy and more of fear or respect. Awe is generally felt toward something or someone you consider more powerful than yourself. Another definition says it is an emotion that may combine “dread, veneration, and wonder.” Someone else says it’s an “overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear produced by that which is grand, sacred, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.”
Perhaps children feel it more readily than adults, I don’t know. Maybe it was an emotion more accessible to people who lived in simpler times. Certainly we are not easily awed anymore, most of us. We’ve flown in airplanes, farther in a few short hours than people could travel in weeks just a couple of generations ago. We have worlds of information at our fingertips through the internet; we’ve seen medical miracles; we watch movies with special effects that cost millions of dollars; we’ve experienced the attractions at Disney World; we’ve cheered astonishing achievements in sports and the arts; we’ve gotten used to a standard of living that’s luxurious beyond what most people who’ve walked this planet could have ever imagined. Not much surprises us. It takes a lot to “wow” us.
From "Advent Awareness: Humility" based on Malachi 3:1-4 and Deuteronomy 8:11-16 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ December 6, 2009
I
love Advent. It’s like a great introduction to a book that prepares the mind
for the new ideas and learning to follow. It’s the opening act that whets the
appetite for the main attraction. It’s that first sip of fresh squeezed orange
juice that advertises the gourmet breakfast to come. It’s the opening scene of
a great movie that so fully engages your attention that you’ve forgotten the
troubles of the day. Advent is both escape and engagement in the same moment.
In
the traditional (and somewhat dull) language about the church year, we describe
Advent as a season of preparation. As I enter my fiftieth Advent, I am struck
by the inadequacy of this description. I find it disheartening to ponder the
thought that 50 seasons have not been enough to prepare me for whatever Advent
was supposed to get me ready.
Well,
we do know what this preparation is about. We’re getting ready for Christmas.
But Advent preparation isn’t about getting ready for that family celebration on
Christmas day. It’s not about putting up the lights, sending out cards, buying
presents or preparing the food. Advent, we know, is about anticipating the
coming of Jesus Christ. It’s both about getting ready to mark the day of his
birth in
What is it about human beings that we need a season of preparation for receiving Christ again in our lives? Why is it that with the great introductory chapter of last year’s Advent, the chapters written with our lives in the year that follows fail to live up to expectations? Why is it that the joy begun in Advent doesn’t have the staying power through the year? How is it that we understand the prophet only too well when he says, “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?” After so many Advents, shouldn’t we be ready to say, “Come, Lord Jesus,” without worrying so much about what Jesus will find?
From "Advent Awareness: Justice" based on Jeremiah 33:14-16 ~ Rev. Janet Duggins ~ November 29, 2009
Advent awareness … urges us not to turn away from these unhappy truths. In this season when we think about God coming into our world in Jesus - not turning away from human suffering but embracing and sharing it… how can we turn away?
While the world around us is decking the halls and preparing to have a Merry Christmas – and we are doing those same things, too, at church and at home – we are also pausing in worship to hear words from the prophets, traditional readings for the Advent season. The prophets might not fit in very well at the mall or the office Christmas party, but they do fit right into Advent, because Advent is a time intended to sharpen our awareness… and that’s exactly what the prophets like Jeremiah do.
From "To Whom We Belong" based on Rev. 1:4b-8 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ November 22, 2009
When
I think of kings I think of Camelot, of the whole mythology surrounding Arthur
and his knights. Would Jesus’ kingdom
be like that? … I mean before the whole
Lancelot and Guinevere thing tore apart the vision… a realm of peace governed
by laws that applied to all the people equally, a passion for justice,
especially toward the “least” in the kingdom.
Or
perhaps Jesus’ kingdom might incorporate some of the rhetoric of the American
version of Camelot, someone like John F. Kennedy asking not what our country
can do for us but what we can do for our country… a kingdom where people think
first about their neighbor and then their own need.
Then
there’s Henry VIII, whose rule is most noted for corruption, but whose desire
for divorces certainly was a significant factor in solidifying support for the
Reformation in
From "The Truly Extraordinary Gift" based on Mark 12:38-44 ~ Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ November 8, 2009
I
find myself in a bit of a dilemma this morning. I want to talk about
stewardship, especially as it relates to our commitments of financial offerings
for the coming year… but our story from Mark’s gospel is a little resistant to
this application. I know this hasn’t stopped preachers from using the “widow’s
mite” on stewardship dedication Sunday. It is in fact quite a popular text for
this purpose.
“Look
at this widow,” they say. “What a marvelous example of sacrificial giving!”
These are the “give till it hurts” preachers. They love to tell stories about
people who write the church check first before paying any other bills. They
talk about the tithe and emphasize that it begins at ten percent, but that
those who are better off should really consider going beyond that. Sacrificial
giving, after all, can’t be a flat tax. There are plenty of people for whom ten
per cent doesn’t involve much of a sacrifice. These preachers don’t usually go
so far as to pull the “guilt” card. They try to keep the message positive,
focusing on the benefits of generosity and much of what they have to say is
true. As human beings, we have a need to give. Even scientists are beginning to
recognize this. Recent studies in evolutionary theory are suggesting that
cooperation is a third major principle alongside
From "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" based on John 11:21-25, 32-44 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ All Saints Day, November 1, 2009
John’s Jesus is more divine than human. Certainly John believes what Christians have traditionally affirmed, that Jesus is “fully human and fully divine.” And we clearly see compassion and human emotion in Jesus as John portrays him – for example when Jesus cries with the others who are mourning Lazarus’ death. But always in John, Jesus is “the Word made flesh.”
John views Jesus through the prism of resurrection. In other words, even as he tells the stories of Jesus’ earlier ministry, John has the resurrected, victorious Christ in mind. In John, even before his death and resurrection, Jesus acts and speaks like the One who triumphs over death.
Maybe the most intriguing thing about John’s gospel is what’s found in the section dealing with Jesus’ ministry (approx. chapters 2-11; what we read today is the end of that section). The highlights of this part are seven “signs” (or miracles) and seven “sayings.” It’s certainly no accident that John includes seven of each; in Jewish tradition, seven was considered the number of perfection or completeness.
From Seeing the World" based on Mark 10:46-52 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ October 25, 2009
I wonder about what else
Bartimaeus saw as he “followed Jesus on the way.” Especially I wonder if he ever had moments
when he felt a little sorry he had gotten his sight back. There must have been things he saw that he
wished he didn’t have to see: a hungry
child, a grieving mother, acts of violence or betrayal, shantytowns full of
hopeless people, careless waste of precious resources. Maybe he went with Jesus as far as the
cross, and saw his suffering, and the deluded angry mob of people and the
helpless, frightened disciples. Maybe he
saw things among his own friends, family, and neighbors that disappointed him. There might have been times when he didn’t
really like this renewed connection with his world.
From "Inheriting the Faith" based on 2 Timothy 1:1-7 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ October 18, 2009
“Kindle afresh” is used only here and nowhere else in the New Testament. The image reminds us that we need to stir up that passion for faith from time to time, like a fire that burns down, but not out, needs to have fuel added and the coals stirred up to continue to produce light and warmth.
I’ll come back to this image, but first I want to talk about something else in the text. Grandparents don’t get much play in the Bible, but here Lois is mentioned with her daughter Eunice as the first of three generations of Christians. It remains true in many families today that mom and grandma are the ones who take responsibility for getting the children to church, but there’s something more going on here than dragging the kids to Sunday School. There’s a depth to the faith that is shared by the three generations, which Paul relies on in order to encourage Timothy in his call.
From "The Look of Love" based on Mark 10:17-31 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ October 4,2009
The first time Jesus really looked at the rich man, Mark makes the observation
that Jesus loved him. Surprisingly, the gospels don’t say this about Jesus very
often. John tells us that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus and in his
farewell address Jesus charges the disciples to love one another as he “has
loved them.” Beyond that there is reference to the “disciple whom Jesus loved”,
again, in John’s gospel. But this is the only reference to Jesus loving someone
in the Synoptics. Even Matthew’s and Luke’s version of this same story delete
the reference to love.
What an odd comment for someone Jesus just met! “Jesus looking at him, loved him….” I don’t know what Mark was after in this comment, what point he intended to make, but I think it’s this “look of love” that makes things possible. Maybe the rich man missed it and that’s why he went away sad. Or maybe he saw it and went away sad because he was going to do just what Jesus was telling him to do. Or maybe he thought about it later, remembered the look, did what Jesus asked and became that “disciple whom Jesus loved.” It’s all speculation, but I do know that it’s love that changes us, love that instills the courage to make sacrifices, love that releases us from those unhealthy attachments. We are made for each other and love is the bond that enables us to live for each other. We will never take up our cross, unless we perceive and receive the “look of love.” As stingy as the gospels may be with it, I know that God is not and that is why so many impossible things happen every day.
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