27 April 2014 - UCC Keene

On the last Sunday before Pastor Gordon Ellis leaves UCC Keene

He spoke about water, about which many Biblical passages are seen

Psalm sixty seven, Acts ten, and John seven

All speak about water as a gift from heaven

We cannot live without water, which is a key element of creation

Engineering prowess enables water's amassing and utilization

Great aqueducts collected water and carried it far away

The ruins of these aqueducts are still impressive today

The Jordan River has been shrinking as it is siphoned for irrigation

Reflecting water's status as a scarce resource in every Mideast nation

Water symbolizes cleansing and renewal and so much more

In particular, it symbolizes the foreboding underworld's door

So when God stirs up water, it proves that miracles happen

In Genesis, there was creation and then after the flood again

In Exodus, the Israelites escaped when God stirred up the Red Sea

Later Moses' rod brought water from a stone for all the nation to see

In Joshua, the ark carriers saw a swirling Jordan River all around

But God stirred up the water to allow them to cross on dry ground

There were also water miracles in the New Testament

John baptized many, telling of the Messiah God had sent

Jesus turned water into wine and walked in the Sea of Galilee

And on Pentecost, believers were baptized and filled with glee

Miracles still happen today when God stirs the water in our soul

Having God present and alive in our lives should thus be our goal

16 December 2012 - UCC Keene

To UCC Keene that Sunday we did go

It was very cold but there was no snow

About "The Real Christmas Story" Pastor Ellis did speak

And into Luke two and Matthew two we did peek

They both talk of the birth of Jesus who God sent

But their focus and stories are quite different

Pastor said Christmas was a mere nine days away

He hopes that we can always find time to pray

To think about what Christmas really means, we need to do

For even the biblical accounts have been convoluted too

This in fact should actually not be overly surprising

When we look at the gospels and what they are comprising

About the birth of Jesus Mark is completely silent

John of course has a very theological bent

Matthew and Luke have different versions of Jesus' birth

But of course each message has a distinctive worth

 

Luke's version is the more familiar and known of the two

Giving birth is what Gabriel says Elizabeth and Mary will do

The latter unmarried and the former supposedly too old

But nothing is impossible with God, they were told

Jesus' birth was God's blessing for the poor

John the Baptist's talked of justice and more

Pigeons are are what Mary and Joseph did sacrifice

For the first born son, that was the dedication price

Luke focused on poverty, justice, and humility

God's intervention for the poor was no mystery

But there is no mention of King Herod or the wise men

For that, we must refer to Matthew's gospel again

 

From Joseph's perspective, Matthew the story does tell

Carpenter Joseph handles his moral dilemma very well

For he responds to a heavenly-sent dream

He was to take Mary as his wife, it did seem

Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, or "God saves"

He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, Matthew raves

Where He was actually born is not exactly clear

But they went to Egypt, for Herod they did fear

Even with the wise men, Matthew never said it was three

That just happened to be the number of gifts we do see

The fact the wise men are foreigners is a clear sign

For Jesus, between Jews and Gentiles there is no line

 

In short, the Nativity scenes that we so oft see

Are a combination of accounts - a made-up story

But that does not matter for each story has a claim

About Jesus, who loves everyone all the same

Luke says He ushers in the Kingdom of God

Matthew gives God's promises to Israel the nod

Either way, Jesus came here so all can be blessed

We can all freely receive His love, there is no test

 

Like the authors, we each have own Christmas meaning

As long as in the centre of it is God's light gleaming

For no matter what our own specific view

That perspective tells us what we should do

About this topic, to conclude, Pastor asked us to pray hard

For the true meaning of Christmas can not be found on a card

5 June 2011 - Keene UCC

At Keene UCC, we heard Dr Gordon Ellis speak
Into 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a he did peek
"Many members, one body" was the title of his sermon
Talking about Asperger's Syndrome is how he begun
We all suffer from a similar affliction, he did say
Focusing on our interests, not in a life-enhancing way
In Corinth, Paul saw this happening quite fast
The church as being destroyed; he was aghast
Different factions and "leaders" were the cause
Even though all should follow Jesus and God's laws

In 1 Corinthians 12, answers were provided by Paul
Using the "one body" metaphor due to the diversity of all
Without diversity, the body would not really work
Parts have to work together or the body goes berserk
This is consistent with what Jesus did fervently pray
That the disciples would be one body, John 17 did say
We must not get fragmented due to our factions
In fact, diversity should be integral in our interactions
For diversity allows us to live out the church's purpose
To be a living example of God's love without making a fuss
Different are all of our individual talents and gifts
But without God's love, this will only lead to rifts

Paul said "I will show you the most excellent way" in verse 31
The focus on love is of course how chapter thirteen is begun
Again, our gifts are nothing without God's love
Per Matthew 22, we are to love our God above
And if in harmony and love we can work together
As the body of Christ, all trials we can weather