~ 1 Kings 3:3-14/Psalm 111/Ephesians 5:12-20 ~ You know the preacher is on thin ice if he should disagree with a hymn we’ve already sung. Our opening hymn says, “O Grant us light, O God, that we may know the wisdom that you alone can give,” we sang in … Read More
~ Psalm 66:1-4/Colossians 3:12-16 ~ A cynic would say that all music is manipulative. Including, or maybe especially, church music. Music manipulates your emotions. Through the ages composers and musicians created clever devices to manipulate our emotions. A haunting melody, a catchy tune, a simple harmony, a four-part chorus … Read More
~ Mark 6:30-34, 53-56/ Jeremiah 23:1-6 ~ Who knew that sheep could be weaponized? Oh, I’m not talking about marauding armed gangs of rogue sheep terrorizing the hinterland. I’m talking about the ‘culture wars’ for which just about anything can be used as a weapon. Mocking, disparaging, supposedly insulting terms … Read More
Photo – John the Baptist Rebuking Herod ~ Mark 6:14-29 ~ The Legion of Honor in San Francisco has one of largest collections of Auguste Rodin sculptures outside of Paris. One of the sculptures on display there is of John the Baptist that is a bit off-putting – his head … Read More
~ 2 Samuel 5:1-10/Psalm 48 ~ It’s one of those earworm songs – once you hear it you can’t get it out of your head. This land is your land, this land is my land From California to the New York island From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream … Read More
~ 2 Samuel 1:17-27 ~ June 25, 1978 – Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco. Newly elected San Francisco supervisor, Harvey Milk, had urged his activist friend, Gilbert Baker, an openly gay former military officer turned artist, to create a new, more hopeful, symbol for the gay community to be … Read More