Pastor Scott's Musings

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC New Clothes (Colossians 3:12-17) A Christmas Story   What did Frosty’s girlfriend give him when she was mad at him? The cold shoulder.   What did the snowman say to the aggressive carrot? “Get out of my face.”   Why did the Little Drummer Boy put his drum to bed? It was beat.   I trust you all had pleasant Christmas gatherings.   We watched some of our favorite Christmas movies, like A Christmas Story (1983). I always laugh at the scene when Ralphie and his brother, Randy, are opening gifts. They open a gift with a pair of socks. They look at each other, shrug, chuck them over their shoulders, and dive into the next wrapped gift. I assume most of us are not that excited about getting clothes at Christmas. Although I’m into my new Star Wars socks!   In today’s reading, however, the apostle urges the church to put on their new clothes. But you got to chuck your old clothes first. I’ve got loads of c...

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC Mary (Luke 1:26-49) Mary finally got her newborn son down for a nap. Her body worn out and her head aching, she leaned back into her husband Joseph. His arms were warm, and the beat of his heart soothed her. Just then, along came a group of shepherds to pay homage to the child messiah. A boy among them said, “I know what the newborn king needs for his birthday, a drum solo!”   Our ideas about what happened that first Christmas are left to our imagination. The Bible gives us just enough detail to know the story, and leaves us wanting to know more.   In the first century, Jewish families were led by the patriarch. He often prearranged the marriage of his daughters. If that is the case, Mary had little choice in the matter of her marriage to Joseph. Later traditions suggest that Joseph was quite a bit older than Mary, which is why he is absent from the gospel writings after the birth of Jesus. Some have suggested that Mary w...

Sermon for MIlledgeville and Whitestown UMC Hope ( Zephaniah 3:14-20 )     He will renew you in his love Zephaniah 3:17c A poll of our favorite book in the Bible yields titles you might expect like the gospel of John, Romans, or Genesis. Psalms and Proverbs are popular. The early church called Isaiah the “Fifth Gospel.” Isaiah is referenced 472 times in the New Testament. But I’ve never seen anyone say that the minor prophet Zephaniah is their favorite. Zephaniah begins with sheer shock and awe. The Lord proclaims that He will undo His creation. As in the days of Noah when God wiped the earth clean of all life, save those on the ark, Zephaniah proclaims that God will again destroy his creation and start over. Why? Because of Israel’s idolatrous and wicked behavior. After giving a short introduction of Zephaniah, the great, great grandson of King Hezekiah, the prophet jumps right into his message of doom! “I will destroy everything from the face of the earth,” says the L...

  Incarnation Session Four Dec 17, 2024   John 1:1-18 (High Christology) The 20 th century saw a great deal of work around the historical Jesus. As early as the late 18 th century scholars have attempted to reconstruct an understanding of the man Jesus of Nazareth, his message and ministry impact. Historical Jesus reconstructions tear away any and all religious notions of the man and present the human Jesus as one among many historical figures that have impacted human history. Albert Schweitzer wrote that historical Jesus efforts is like looking in a well. The unfortunate result is that Jesus ends up looking like a reflection of the scholar, their views, ethics and emphases. Some paint the historical Jesus as a revolutionary and social justice warrior. Others an esoteric mystic. Still others contend Jesus to be a rabbinic teacher akin to Hillel. The historical Jesus is irrevocably lost to us. What we have is the Christ of faith. If you want to know Jesus, read the sc...

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC... The Messenger ( Luke 3:1-6 )   Aliens visit Earth. Earth began preparations to receive them. All of the top government and religious leaders assembled to greet the new visitors from another world. When it was the Pope's turn, he asked: "Do you know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?" "You mean JC?", responds the alien. "Yeah, we know him! He's the greatest, isn't he? He swings by every year to make sure that we are doing ok". Stunned, the pope questions: "He visits every year?! It's been over two millennia and we're still waiting for his SECOND coming!" The alien sees that the pope is upset and starts trying to rationalize. "Maybe he likes our chocolate better than yours?" The pope retorts "Chocolates? What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?" The alien says "Well, when he first visited our planet, we gav...

  Incarnation Session Three Dec 10, 2024 Mark 1:8-12 – The Baptism of Jesus   Baptism was practiced in various religious traditions, some more gruesome than others involving a shower of animal blood. Baptism literally means immersed or overwhelmed. The word is used to speak of cleansing, but in Christian circles baptism is a sacramental means of grace.   Grace is not simply forgiveness. Some define grace as unmerited favor. God showed us mercy and love through the cross of Jesus, even though we did nothing to deserve it. As Paul wrote,   But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)   And further Paul writes,   For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Rom 5:10)   John Wesley taught that grace was the love of God at work in ...

  Advent of Messiah ( Jeremiah 33:14-16 )   The Prophet Jeremiah preaching to the King of Judah at the King's Gate I saw a meme of Mary and Joseph with the Baby Jesus lying in the manger. In the background, a cow says to a donkey, “I don’t care who he is, he’s not going to lay on my lunch!”   Today begins the season of Advent. Advent derives from the Latin adventus , which means “coming.” Advent proclaims the comings of the Christ—whose birth we prepare to celebrate once again, who comes continually in Word and Spirit, and whose return in final victory we anticipate.   Our reading today is from the prophet Jeremiah and his prophecies about the restoration of Israel, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and exile in Babylon.   I decided to read all of Jeremiah to get the full story. Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah. Its leadership led Judah into idolatry and with the worship of false gods came every sort of injustice. Selfish...