Telling the Glory of God: Sermon Starter on Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, and Mental Health
We are to include and welcome those who cannot see their own value and those who have been devalued by the world.
Mental Illness
We are Bartimaeus When We Need to Be Jesus: Prophetic Sermon on Mark 10:46-52
What if we, who make up the Bodymind of Christ, start identifying with Jesus in these stories. Instead of waiting for magical healing or magical insights, what if we sought to be the healers – less literally and more actually.
A Place for All: Thoughts on James 3 and Mark 9
Every single one of us has value as God’s beloved. It does not matter who we are, what we do, what we have, what we don’t do, the good we’ve done, the harm we’ve wrought. God loves and claims us all as beloved. We all have value right now, as we are – broken or whole or somewhere in between. Queer, straight, cis, Trans*, rich, poor, healthy, sick, black, white, brown, red, yellow, educated, uneducated, smart, intellectually impaired, wise, foolish, temporarily able-bodied, disabled, mentally healthy, mentally ill, and all the other unique and wonderful combination of things that make us human. We have a place in the Kingdom. We are called to be Kingdom-builders, all of us – each doing their individual part connected to the whole.
Break the Silence; Shatter the Stigma – Talk about Suicide Now
Suicide is one of the most important topics we should be discussing in faith communities and it is the one topic most readily avoided. We believe a lot of misinformation about suicide. We think adolescents have the highest risk, and as a whole they do. However, did you know that middle-aged white men now have the highest rates of suicide? Suicide remains the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. with a growing number of older adults dying by suicide. Churches really need to have this difficult conversation because we have the capacity and the resources to save lives.
Mirror, Mirror
Mirrors are helpful most of the time. We benefit from being able to make sure that we look “presentable” before going into public spaces. Sometimes, though, the mirror reveals unpleasant truths. I’m not talking about the distortions I see in the mirror; I know these are false. I’m referring more to the metaphoric mirror, the kind of mirror Nathan held up to David. The one that shows our character flaws and reflects our sins clearly. This kind of mirror is a rare and true gift, if we are brave enough to gaze into it.
Reaching for Healing
Healing stories are fascinating, let alone the raising from the dead stories. Our 21st Century minds try to rationalize and minimize the power of such accounts. I know I spent years wishing I could touch Jesus garment and be healed from sickness.
When Will We Learn
Nicodemus is a familiar character. He was a pharisee who snuck off to talk with Jesus in the middle of the night. I wonder what burning question made him take the risk of being seen with Jesus. All we know is that he went to Jesus and affirmed that Jesus was “from God.” Then the conversation just gets weird. And you know what? The Christian church has never made sense of this strange passage in any useful way.
Mental Health Sunday: Toward a New Understanding
In the United Church of Christ, this Sunday is Mental Health Sunday… Church can be helpful or harmful, and our history indicates that we have harmed more than we’ve helped when it comes to mental health.
A Little More about Love
I wish love was simple and uncomplicated. Jesus talked about it so much because love challenges us, often to go beyond our perceived limits. I didn’t grow up with the best role models when it comes to love.
In Preparation for Mental Health Awareness Month
This selection of verses from Psalm 139 underscores the need for congregations to engage in conversation around mental health and mental illness. The psalmist clearly states that there is no place we can go where God is not already there