Blog of FPC Lebanon

Bible Reference(s): John 9 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn The cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon. When you coming home, Dad?  I don't know when, but we'll get together then.  You know will have a good time then. You all have no idea how hard it is to just say those words as opposed to sing them.  Even as I said them, I suspect most of us were hearing the tune in our head.  What makes this Harry Chapin song timeless is that it contains a truth about life that we can't seem to grasp while we are living it. In the first verse of the song, the singer tells us his child is born and learns to walk while he was away working.  When the boy turns 10, he asks his dad to teach him how to play ball.  The dad has too much to do and tells him they will have to do it later.  Each time that the dad isn't able to be there, the son reassures him it's OK.  He says he just wants to grow up and be like his Dad.  It i...

Bible Reference(s): John 4:5-42 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn During this Lenten season, we have committed ourselves to telling the stories of scripture in a number of different ways including telling them by heart, using dramatic readings, incorporating visual arts, and singing them in song.  After all, we can never hear the stories of Jesus' life too often; and the stories...in and of themselves...are enough.  They are all we need, in order to be the church.   This week's story, is...shall we say...almost, more than enough?  There is so much in this story that it is a challenge to know where to begin.  For one thing, it's really long...just ask Ben and Bailie...they will tell you...37 verses long!  It also covers so much theological ground that we could probably come up with a month's worth of sermons on it.  However, I promise to not try to preach them all in one Sunday!  Instead, for today, let's just focus is on the what happens at the well - th...

Bible Reference(s): John 3:1-17 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn Earlier this week I ran across this inspirational quote:  Curiosity is the compass that leads us to our passions.  Follow it and you won't be disappointed.  The future belongs to the curious.  I'm not sure that I agree with the part of the quote that you won't be disappointed if you follow your curiosity, but I do think this anonymous author was on to something.  It is true...the future does belong to the curious.  The curious, not the comfortable, are the ones willing to let go of the here and now in order to move toward the future.  They are not content to just let the future happen…or allow someone else to hand it to them.  Instead, the curious are asking the questions, testing the theories, discovering new ideas, and stepping forward to help shape the future.   This is why being around children can be such a blessing; they remind us of what it means to have a sense of curio...

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 4:1-11 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn In January, when you see the little girls of the neighborhood approaching your door with their form in hand, you know what they are selling, right?  They are selling cookies. Girl Scout cookies  Little boxes of temptation. And in the fall, when the Boy Scouts are camped out with their card tables at the entrance to Kroger, we know what they are selling too. right?.  Overpriced, but very delicious flavors of popcorn. Mid-summer...at the entrance to Walmart...when you see Lebanon High School football players lurking around, it's pretty likely they are selling their football discount cards. Most of the time, we know what people are selling...so it should come as no surprise that when the devil, Satan, the tempter ...whatever you title you prefer to call him...when he shows up in scripture, we know what he's selling too.  He's trying to convince humans that we can have it all.  Whatever "it" might be....

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 17:1-9 / Exodus 24:12-18 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn Every year, this final Sunday before Lent is designated as the Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday.  Every year the lectionary gives us some version of the same stories to use in worship:   Moses on the mountain, Jesus being transfigured on the mountain, and an epistle reading related to the acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah.  And every year, preachers are puzzled by how to interpret this very strange story.  Each year it is fraught with more questions than answers.  Take for example, the appearance of Moses and Elijah?  Is it symbolic of Law and Prophecy coming together in Jesus – is it God’s way of saying Jesus fulfills both of these?  Or, is it that Moses and Elijah are there to coach and encourage Jesus for the road ahead?  After all, they know first-hand how difficult it is going to be.  Could it be that they represent the "living and the dead" all u...

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 5:38-48 / Leviticus 18:1-2, 9-18 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Personally, as soon as I hear the words “be holy” or “be perfect”, I am drawn back toward a time in my life that I've tried really hard to put behind me.  A time when being perfect meant fear of not being good enough...a fear of making mistakes. It takes me to a time of relationship-damaging driven-ness aimed toward what I know was an impossible goal.  Still, I thought that's what it meant to be a good Christian.  So when I hear God say, you shall be holy...or be perfect...I want to just say, "Really, God?  Do we really have to go down this road again?" This week the answer came to me loud and clear..."Why yes, Terri, we do.  I meant it then, and I mean it now...you shall be holy. My beloved church shall be holy." Still, it is intimidating to preach on the ho...

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 5:21-37 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn It is good to be back in worship with my tribe today, but I do have to thank you for the time away.  Gathering with nearly 60 other female clergy from all over the world for a week of learning and fellowship is always good for my soul; and having an opportunity to spend the week with Rev. Carol McDonald, who sends her love to all of you, was also a tremendous blessing.   However, the most surprising and best thing about the conference was the keynote speaker, Rev. Casey Fitzgerald who led us in a series of workshops on Biblical Storytelling.  During our time together, we were challenged to embrace the stories of scripture...to take them into our hearts...and to tell them to a world that seems to have lost touch with them.  We learned techniques for internalizing the scripture and for communicating them to others.  I can't begin to describe how inspiring this was, but suffice to say that I have p...

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 5:1-12 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn As we are now nine days into the new administration of United States government I think we can all agree - no matter what your political views - we are living in a new reality.  A reality that many folks, both here and abroad, are still trying to figure out.  Sure, there will always some level of uncertainty when a new regime of leadership comes on the scene; however, the rapid upheaval of the last week has been a bit unnerving for people all around the world.   It has left a whole lot of Americans wondering what is life going to look like under this new leadership?   I wonder if the disciples felt a similar sense of concern when they answered the call to join Jesus in his mission?  Not that Jesus was an elected official, but clearly, having given up everything to follow him meant that their lives were radically changed. They were uprooted from homes, their families, and their livelihood, in orde...