MAC KIRK

Trinity II,  2014  " Luke 14:16-24"     In the middle of talking about inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to a feast or supper, someone hears our Lord talk about this, and feels the wonder of that kind of action.  In this life it is rare that one would invite those who cannot reply in kind to such a feast. " Now when one of those who sat at table with Him heard these things, he said to our Lord,' Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God' ".     Our Lord directs this story /parable to this individual to show the hope of heaven and that we also must claim that too without excuse.  " When the critical time came, would he really accept God's invitation?  Or would he be too busy about some activity affecting his more immediate interests?" The Gospel of Luke, Leon Morris.  Too busy.  I did not know that the Captain of the Titanic received six warnings about ice bergs on that night in April of 1912 ,...

1st Sunday after Trinity 2014 Eleanor Schmidt tells this story in " Reader's Digest": " My doctor had recommended surgery and referred me to a specialist.  Arriving early for my appointment, I found the door unlocked and the young surgeon deeply engrosed in reading, behind the receptionist's desk. When he didn't hear me come in, I cleared my throat. Startled, he closed the book, which I recognized as a Bible. " Does reading the Bible help you before or after the operation?" I asked.  My fears were dispelled by his soft one word answer," During." All of our lessons today seem to me to be about the Bible which is God's revelation to us.  Someone once asked , " Pastor, which translation of the Bible do you recommend?"  I think the best answer is , " the one we read."  Our nation is a nation founded on Liberty .  In fact when I lived in Philadelphia and worked at the American Bible Society in 1976 which happened to ...

Trinity Sunday 2014    There was an Irishman , monk and abbot who died in 597 who said something about journeys that goes like this, " Alone with none but thee, my God, I journey on my way.  What need I fear, when thou art near O King of night and day?  More safe am I within thy hand than if a host did round me stand."     We are going to take a short journey this morning and recover a perspective about God and ourselves and others that will help us on our journeys in life.  Perspective is an important word.  How we look at things that may seem difficult or hard will be key in our attempts to get through the problems in our lives.  Someone said when I asked them , " How are you today?" " I have some complaining to talk about, but it would not do any good."  I told them I would hear anything for a nickel.  I was writing an e mail the other day , and left out one letter and that one letter left out made the word completely wrong. O...

Pentecost 2014  " Waiting for the good gifts the Spirit gives"   Wait Jesus told His disciples---" and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father"  They asked Acts 1:6 " Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"  Why does waiting seem so hard?  I think we have been conditioned to think of waiting as a trial, but I wonder.  Is waiting God's way of slowing us down, allowing us to be reformed into His way of thinking and into His image?  Acts 1:7 So the Lord answered them, " And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power."   I can think of some examples of waiting that show us how important this really is.  When someone talks to us, do we form our answer before we have waited to hear what they are saying?  Certainly a lot!  So good communication does n...