So… as we’ve been getting to know one another, a number of you may have heard me tell a story about a sermon I once preached that was so terrible, that about five minutes in… Even I was bored… Who wants to guess what that sermon was on… Yep, our gospel lesson for today… The transfiguration… And what is really really cringe-worthy about that is when I preached that sermon… You know… The most boring sermon ever preached that it nearly put the me, the person preaching, to sleep… I had just been to the top of Mt. Tabor otherwise known as the mountain where the transfiguration may have happened… You’d think with that kind of fresh perspective, I would have had a great sermon put together… But… It was bad… It was so so so bad… If you don’t know the rest of the story… I wrapped up the worst transfiguration sermon ever preached as quickly as possible, and I apologized to folks and told them I’d do better the following week…  ...  read more

So… In our gospel lesson today, we read that news was spreading fast about Jesus and the whole city of Capernaum had gathered outside of the house that he was staying in… That’s right… The whole city was there… And we’re not even out of chapter one yet… People had gathered around the house and they were bringing their friends… Their neighbors… And their loved ones, to see Jesus… To see just what all the fuss was about… Now… I don’t know if there was a long line… Or if perhaps people were waiting their turns patiently and politely as they waited for Jesus to see them, but what we do know is that people were so excited about this Jesus guy, that they couldn’t help, but to tell their friends and neighbors that they had to come and see for themselves… ...  read more

Well, good morning once again everyone. So, the dust is beginning to settle as I’m doing my best to figure out just how everything works around here… In fact, yesterday, George McDowell taught me how to turn the lights on and off here in the sanctuary… Also, worth mentioning, is I finally was able to unpack all of my books… They’re not organized… But, at least they’re on shelves… I think it’s interesting how things have sort of been settling into place… Because at various times in my life, that hasn’t been the case… I’ve often felt like a fish out of water or like a puzzle piece that somehow made it into the wrong box… To put it plainly, I’ve often felt like I don’t fit in… I am happy to report however, that this has not been the case here at St. Barnabas… From day one, I have felt the incredible guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I am confident that God has wonderful things in-store for us in the future. ...  read more

“Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” ...  read more