Pastor Scott's Musings

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC  The First Murder: Cain Kills His Brother, Abel Corruption (Gen 4:1-5:32; 6:3, 5-6) Adam was walking with his two sons, Cain and Abel, when they passed by the flaming sword of the cherubim guarding the entrance to Eden. The boys ask, “what’s that?” Adam says, “Oh. That’s where your mother ate us out of house and home!” How long did Cain hate his brother? As long as he was Abel. We continue the story of the Fall of Humankind. Genesis 2 showed us what life was meant to be like in a paradise-like relationship with God. Adam had purpose serving God and watching over the things of God. God gave Adam and Eve peace and plenty. But they listened to the serpent and ate what God forbade. Paradise was lost. Today we learn what life is like outside of the Garden: hard work on a cursed ground, painful toil, just to eat. And sin corrupts everything. Cain murders his brother in jealous resentment. And the long life given to Adam diminishes thro...

A sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC Bible Stories: The Garden ( Genesis 2-3 )   When was the first math problem in the Bible? When God told humans to go forth and multiply.     What was the longest day in the Bible? The day Adam was created… because there was no Eve.   Today we are digging into the Garden, a story that illustrates human nature. Genesis 1 tells us that humans are made in God’s image. The garden story depicts the creator breathing life into lifeless dirt. Something of God gives life to the man made from dirt. The Hebrew language plays on the words. Adam ( aw-dawm ) comes from the ground ( adama) . This wordplay implies that humans are earthbound, yet we have this longing for something more. Later in chapter 3, the Lord will remind us, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:19)   God places Adam in paradise. Eden means pleasure. It is a walled garden – protected like the gardens of kings. One of the seven won...

Bible Stories: Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3)   In The Beginning... What’s your favorite Bible Story? Mine is the story of Jacob found in Genesis. Bible stories have captivated our imaginations and inspired us for millennia. Each story carries truth to benefit our lives.   The early chapters of Genesis work like an overture to a symphony. Just as an overture gives the listener a preview of musical themes that will be performed more fully later in the symphony, the early chapters of Genesis introduce theological ideas that will recur again and again throughout the rest of the Bible. Genesis 1 begins with the Hebrew word re-sit’, which means the beginning, but it is also a word used to describe the best or choice parts of a sacrifice. The word is used to describe firstfruits offerings in which worshippers bring their first and best to God. The Bible begins by saying, “First, the best thing, God created the heavens and the earth.”   Last week we talked of a Babylonian creation m...

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC on July 21, 2024 Calming the Storm ( Mark 6:45-52 ) A fisherman drives his boat up to a swanky dockside restaurant. The dock hand told him, “I’m sorry, sir, this establishment requires you to wear neckties. I can’t let you dock here.” He went down below the deck and came up wearing jumper cables around his neck. The dock hand shrugged and said, “Alright. I’ll let you go in, but don’t start anything!” Our gospel lesson follows the feeding of the 5000. As Jesus dismissed the crowd, he urged his disciples to take the boat back across the Sea of Galilee. They had taken the boat together to get away from the crowds, but the crowds followed them there. They had no time to rest. Jesus was insistent that his disciples get away. He stayed behind. After the crowds left, Jesus went up a mountain to pray. His desire to pray is related to the Greek word used to describe the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel, The Advocate, one who comes along side o...

    My Current Thinking on LGBTQ+ Full Inclusion in the Church Scott Tyring A few of my friends have asked me to state my thinking on the current quest for LGBTQ+ full inclusion in the life of the Church, specifically for our clergy to officiate same sex marriage, and for LGBTQ+ persons to be welcomed among the ordained to lead our churches. This is a justice issue in our time, one that has pressed the church for many decades now. The pressure from society has reached a breaking point. Our denomination is splitting. Congregations are disaffiliating. Clergy are leaving. And the rest of us have to pick up the pieces and figure out how we can faithfully move forward in the world we are called to reach for Christ. The time we live in is has some similarities with the time of Jesus and the early church. In the first century church, the full inclusion of gentiles, former pagans, was the chief crisis. And we today have our own crisis around including our LGBTQ+ neighbors fu...