Author: Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly
– May 17, 2009
Text: Acts 10:44-48
Welcome, T___. The readings for today align nicely with your baptism.
Today we heard the second of two baptism stories from the book of Acts. The two are similar. Last week a member of the Ethiopian court was baptized. He talked to the disciple Philip about Jesus, and after hearing what Philip had to say, asked him “Look, here is water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?” So Philip baptized him. And today, some folks were listening to Peter, moved, the story says, by the Holy Spirit. Peter this time does the asking: “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people?” And Peter baptized them.
Read more on Baptism: Members of One Another…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– May 10, 2009
Text: John 15:1-8
It is increasingly clear that the difference between our insides and what’s outside is not that great.
It turns out that we are not independent creatures, isolated by skin and by preference from the biologic soup in which we live, or from the physical wear and tear on our various parts. Nor are we isolated from our insides, as if our selves were separate from the organic machinery that toils day and night to keep us working. We know too much now. We know we are creatures among many, pretty tiny compared to the world. And inside of us are many creatures, pretty tiny compared to us. We do not live alone, and we cannot survive alone. We—our selves, our beings—are a mass of biology in a mass of biology, organized and inspired by the spirit. Or as Genesis puts it, we are dust out of which God has formed us with God’s breath.
Read more on The Vine-Branch Connection…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– May 3, 2009
Text: 1 John 3:16-24
Other texts: John 10:11-18
Why do we have fire departments when there is no fire?
Every day all day fire fighters are waiting in fire stations, fire trucks at the ready, fire hydrants cleaned and checked. Yet most of the time we have no fires.
Read more on Heart Sick Calling…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– April 26, 2009
Text: Mark 1:1-15
The beginning begins in the middle.
Unlike in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the story of Jesus in Mark begins with a grownup man. A grownup man on his way to work at his new job. There is no story of the baby Jesus in the manger in Mark, and there is no story of the young wise Jesus speaking in the temple. And unlike in the Gospel of John, there is no cosmological poem.
Read more on Middle of a Love Story…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– April 5, 2009
Text: Mark 11:1-11 and 14:1-15:47
A weird thing about the church calendar is that it breaks one story into lots of little ones. And the lectionary, which divides the whole life of Jesus into 52 bite-sized chunks, sometimes makes our faith seem like the Highlights of Jesus Show. Christmas, some miracles, a few great speeches, then crucifixion and resurrection. It is especially so today, on this Sunday with two names. In about 90 minutes we go from triumph to despair. From Hooray for Jesus to Crucify Him. Today we will ponder that a bit, guided by the minister’s manual that says that on this day “a long sermon might not be desirable.”
Read more on A Life Complete…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– March 29, 2009
Text: John 12:20-31
They asked Jesus a question. Jesus answered them. But the answer seemed to have nothing to do with the question.
The question was: Can these Greek folks come and see you? The Greeks came to Philip. And Philip came to Andrew. And Andrew and Philip came to Jesus.
Read more on Moments of Resistance…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– March 22, 2009
Text: John 3:14-21
Other texts: Numbers 21:4-9
Horrible food. And such small portions.
Why have you brought us out of the land of Egypt? complain the Israelites. Talk about ungrateful. They had been in Egypt because they had been slaves. Moses with God’s help freed them from slavery. Now, in the desert, the old days in Egypt perhaps don’t look so bad. They have turned their gaze to the past, to the familiar. The present is uncomfortable, and the future is uncertain. As they turn their eyes back, they see a past that was never there.
Read more on Eternal Living…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– March 15, 2009
Text: John 2:13–22
Other texts: Exodus 20:1–17
Lutherans have a lot to say about the Law. When Lutherans speak of the the Law, the Law of the Bible, the Old Testament Law of the Torah, not the books in the statehouse, it is always with a capital “L.” Few other Christian denominations make such a big deal of the Law. Some Christians see the Law as at best an outmoded irrelevance to them. Something not applicable to the New Testament and Christianity. Some see it as at worst a toxic burden. Something that Christians should reject as legalistic and condemning.
Read more on Effective Expedient Expert Idols…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– March 1, 2009
Text: Genesis 9:8-17
As I said before the service, there is going to be a quiz about the first reading, the one about Noah. So, here are the questions.
Question 1. This passage describes a promise. What is the promise?
Read more on Good Deal…
Read More
Chris Kelly
– February 22, 2009
Text: Mark 9:2-9
On the cover of the bulletin you’ll see Raphael’s interpretation of the Transfiguration, the formal name for the story we just heard in the Gospel reading. This image was painted around the same time that Martin Luther was stirring up the Reformation. In real life the painting is about thirteen feet high by nine feet wide. I would guess it is a little more impressive at that size than the image on today’s bulletin.
Read more on Down to Earth…
Read More
