Coffee For The Soul

Luke 1:26-38 - Fourth Sunday of Advent (Love)

Luke 1:46b-55 - Third Sunday of Advent (Joy)

Mark 1:1-8 - Second Sunday of Advent (Peace)

Mark 12:24-37 - First Sunday of Advent (Hope)

Ephesians 1:15-23 - How can we reclaim the act of thanksgiving so that we do not take things for granted? In this change of mentality and practice, we might then reconnect with the source of all goodness, life, and love.

Matthew 25:14-30 - A message of welcome and visioning from our presbyter of Hudson River Presbytery.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 - So let us say "good morning," get down and dirty Christ's ministries, and make a better today for a better tomorrow for the planet, for others, and for ourselves.

Matthew 5:1-12 - We have not reached the point of no return and we are never too late, if we set our hearts on the freedom that God provides.

Matthew 22:34-46 - Our failure to love one another is a failure to love God. Or put another way, our love or lack of love for God will manifest itself in how we treat others, which is a frightening thought.

I Thessalonians 1:1-10 - Will our reputation that precedes us be sinister in nature? Or will we be known as imitators of God?

Philippians 4:1-9 - When we realize how much of our shared mission includes overcoming hurdles, the walls of the echo chamber begin to crumble, and the gentleness and godliness of our better angels emerge and have room to spread their wings.

Matthew 21:33-46 - So it's not just about the angle, sometimes the places we take a selfie are unflattering, and in those instances, people will let us know we've made a mistake. Jesus is one such social commentator, as he tells the religious leaders that the picture of themselves might not be appropriate.

Matthew 21:23-32 - If you, we, are not out doing the life-giving work of God and building the kin(g)dom of God, then we need to start doing so! There is still time for us to do our part, the sun hasn't set! Again, better late than never. Are we up for the task?

Philippians 1:21-30 - Too many in our communities do not have access to the type of choices that Paul is talking about this morning because their lives are always at risk. So what can we do? What can you and I sacrifice for the sake of others?

Exodus 20:14-21 - The opposite of such hurt and disappointment comes out of our obedience to God's will for our lives. A healthy community that counteracts such things begins with an understanding of the divine or the universal truths, then turns to an understanding of the self, and then takes us into the wider realm of interacting with people who are grappling with the same issues that plague our...

Matthew 18:15-20 - Jesus is telling us that seeing a conflict from a different perspective is crucial to the restoration of relationships. We belong to a vast and complex system of inter-relational connections that results in fault rarely landing on a single individual.

Exodus 20:13 - Perhaps the sun has set on our anger for too long, and our frustrations and bitter feelings have created the darkness we now face today. When we allow violence to breed violence, we contribute to the forces of evil, that as Dr. King said, adds "darkness to a night already devoid of stars."

Exodus 20:12/Deuteronomy 5:16 - The command to honor our mothers and our fathers is meant to set the stage for the expansive vision of what it means to live in God's kin(g)dom.

Exodus 20:8-11 - The stillness, the quietness, of Sabbath rest is a necessity in our modern era. It recharges our energies in a manner that will sustain us as we go forward, carrying out the mission and vision of God.

Exodus 20:7 - The name of God represents our God who breathes life into creation, and not death, who loves us, and does not condemn us. When we misuse the name of God in ways that bring about harm to others, then the Third Commandment has been broken, not just in how we relate to God, but to one another as well.

Exodus 20:2-6 - The tricky part is that the idols or other graven images the Second Commandment prohibits do not always come in the blatant form of a giant golden calf.

Exodus 20:2-6 - The Prologue and the First Commandment set the stage for exploration into embracing the Ten Commandments as a way of life.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 - Let us see where God is at work, bringing grace to the places that need healing and reconciliation. We might notice seeds beginning to take root in unexpected places, so let our hearts be tended to so that we may tend to others as we continue to live in the kin(g)dom where God has called us.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 - Truth is the beginning of wisdom. And the more we are open to discovering new truths about God, ourselves, and others in a way that is relational, we will find that we are on the path that leads us to live fruitful lives.

Revelation 21:9-11, 22-26 - The New Jerusalem is made to shine like a rare jewel. It is made to shine like a bright jewel only because all those who come into it add what they have to glorify God in a life-giving manner.