UCC First Congregational Church of Elgin Sermons

THE K.I.S.S. METHOD

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:39:42 GMT

I want to take you on a journey back in time. I want to hearken back to the days before the internet, before the compact disk, before cassette tapes, even before 8-tracks. It was a time when almost all TVs were black and white, and there were, at most, three or four channels, and you act...

GET UP, GO...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:15:06 GMT

A man is standing at a bar, just looking at his drink. For a solid half-hour, he just stares at it. Suddenly, a big trouble-making truck driver steps up next to him, grabs the drink and chugs it down. The poor fellow starts crying.

The truck driver says, “Come on man, I ...

EYEWITNESS NEWS

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:47:17 GMT

One of my annual traditions used to be a trek to Greenville, South Carolina for a week at the Pastor’s School at Furman University. While I and the other clergy were hearing lectures by learned theologians and great preachers, the University provided a day camp for children so my wife and I al...

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 12:15:14 GMT

Some of you have been kind enough to notice I’ve dropped a few pounds over the past year, and I must admit I’ve enjoyed basking in your accolades. I have a long way to go yet, but for several months now the question I’ve enjoyed answering the most is “So how much weight have you lost?” F...

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:36:14 GMT

I have reached that stage in life when almost everything in this modern world baffles me. Even the little things often have me staring in puzzlement like a cow looking at a new fence. I mean, what’s the point of a sign in a restaurant parking lot that reads, “Parking for drive-through cu...

IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:34:44 GMT

Some of you may remember a song Johnny Cash recorded called "A Boy Named Sue," all about the trials and tribulations of a guy growing up with a girl’s name. Well, I’m here to tell you that life isn’t much easier for a boy named Paris. For those of you who don’t know, Pa...

A MATERIAL WORLD

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:39:41 GMT

My first church after seminary was a small, rural congregation south of Atlanta filled with salt of the earth folks who were working really hard to bring their church into the new century. Unfortunately, that century was the 19th century. I was unprepared for some of the attitudes and be...

CLOSURE AND CONTROL

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:05:08 GMT

Well, it’s finally happened. My brother has become one of those older bachelors who have nothing better to do than organize things. My sisters and I were already kidding him about the way he takes the Christmas decorations down — lights and ornaments have to come off the tree in a certai...

THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:20:24 GMT

On the last day of a trip to Israel back in the 90’s, I went to check out of my hotel room and was told I had a few charges to settle up. I don’t remember what they were for, but I recall they weren’t a lot of money. However, it was the end of the trip and my cash was running low so I...

MAGIC WORDS

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:12:41 GMT

Magic Words! That was what my mother called them. It’s what I called them when I was teaching too. Magic Words – words that could open doors, words that could bring a smile to another person’s face, words that make a difference. They aren’t “Open Sesame” or “abracada...