Pastor Scott's Musings

  The Bread of Life ( John 6 )   A Russian stood in a bread line for over two hours, when they ran out of bread. Frustrated he started to complain loudly, “I have lived in this country my whole life. I have always supported the party. Communism is a failure! I hate this country.” A man in a trench coat appeared at his side and put his arm around him and said, “Comrade, Comrade, Don’t say such things. Remember what is was like in the old days.” He put his hand in the shape of a gun and pointed it to his forehead. The man went home. Seeing he had not bread, his wife asked, “What’s the matter? Did they run out of bread?” “Worse” he said, “They ran out of bullets!”   I went to a zoo and there was a baguette in a cage The keeper said it was bread in captivity.   Jesus feeds a crowd of 5000 miraculous bread and fish from only 5 loaves and 2 fish. They picked up 12 basketfuls of leftovers. We’ve discussed in the past the meaning behind the numbers. 5 represen...

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC  Signs ( John 5:8-47 )   The deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete— the deeds I am now doing—testify about me that the Father has sent me. John 5:36  In heaven, there were two huge signs. The first read, Men Who Did What Their Wives Told Them to Do .... The line of men under this sign stretched as far as the eye could see. The second sign stated, Men Who Did What They Wanted to Do . Only one man stood under that sign. Intrigued, St. Peter said to the lone man, “Tell me about yourself." The man shrugged and said, “My wife told me to stand here.”   Jesus performed a sign by healing a paralyzed man on the Sabbath day. At Jesus’ command, the man got up, took his mat, and walked. By carrying his mat, he broke a sabbath rule.   Rabbinical law states, On Sabbath one may not carry or transfer objects between a private, enclosed domain, such as the house, and a public domain, such as the st...

  Healing ( John 4:43-5:9 )   At The Pool of Bethesda Nathan Greene A man told his doctor, “There’s something weird going on with my leg. Put your stethoscope on my thigh.” The doctor listens and hears “You got $20? Give me 20 bucks.” The doctor was amazed! “I’ve never encountered anything like this!” The patient said, “Now listen to my knee!” He listened and heard, “Give $10. You got $10?” The doctor shook his head in amazement. “I don’t know what to tell you.” “Listen to my ankle” the patient said. The doctor listened and heard the ankle say, “I just need $5! I swear, that’s all I need.” The doctor said to the man, “Although this is remarkable, in my years of experience I’d say your leg is broke in three places.”   According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Good health means an enjoyable existence. Poor health complicates life. Leading...

  Well ( John 4:1-42 )   Whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14 Why was the condemned well kicked off the debate team? Its argument couldn’t hold water.   Why don’t they ever make movies about wells? They’re always too deep.   What’s the difference between a poorly-built well and a chatty neighbor? One you can easily walk away from.   After the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, John 3 pivots to John the Baptist. The gospel reaffirms the supremacy of Jesus as the one sent from heaven by the Father. Jesus is the one God sent to speak God’s words. John joyfully humbles himself saying, “Christ must increase, and I must decrease.”   In today’s reading, Jesus speaks God’s words to an outcast among her people. The Samaritan village Sychar (Soo-khawr’) means drunken. It is clo...