Sermon Conclusion

I hate it when I find the fitting conclusion to a sermon the week following the sermon. I'm supposed to find these things the week before the sermon. In Diogenes Allen's book Steps Along the Way, he recounts a story by G. K. Chesterton. In the story, the characters seek to understand the role a howling dog plays in a murder mystery. It turns out to have a very rational explanation. However, a non-believing character "assigns all sorts of mysterious powers to the dog." When the rational explanation is discovered, the Priest addresses the character saying:
"It's the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense, and can't see things as they are. Anything that anybody talks about, and says there's a good deal in it, extends itself indefinitely like a vista in nightmare. And a dog is an omen and a cat is a mystery . . . calling up all the menagerie of polytheism from Egypt and old India . . . and all because you are frightened of four words: 'He was made Man.'"

Allen concludes this section by saying, "Unlike Superstition, Christianity, for all its wonders, makes sense. You are not asked to leave your mind behind when you believe. Rather you are to believe in order to gain understanding by learning to see the world from the point of view of the divine mind, the source of all order and rationality that we find in the world God created." (p. 21).

A New Year

As we say good bye to 2009 and hello to 2010, there are a number of exciting things happening. On January 3, after the 10:45 service, we will have a board meeting to introduce the search committee's selection of two associate ministers. The next Sunday, we'll have a congregational meeting, a welcome lunch for new members, an ordination and installation service for deacons, officers and elders, and a Chili Cook-off/Pie Contest.