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Congregational Church United Church of Christ Somonauk, Illinois |
"Shepherds" I have to tell you. I was in the fields – that’s where I live. A whole bunch of us live there. We work hard. We go pretty much unnoticed by most everyone else. We make just enough to be able to feed ourselves. We’re shepherds. And we watch over our flocks day and night. (This sermon was delivered Rev. Kirk Moore on December 24 2009)
"Singing" Set out: In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country . . . And so our reading for the Sunday before Christmas begins. Mary, a pregnant, unwed teenager got out of Dodge – She fled far away from where people would know her – so that the scandal behind her could simmer down. (This sermon was sung and spoken by Rev. Kirk Moore on December 20, 2009)
"Prepare" John didn’t come from the house of the Emperor, the governor, or any governmental leader. He was Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child. He had a priestly lineage on both parent’s sides (from Abijah and Aaron) but they weren’t power players in the priestly areas and John wasn’t part of any power system. He was in the wilderness. He didn’t know “how things worked,” according to the powers that were all around him. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on December 6, 2009)
"Signs" That rabble-rouser Jesus is at it again! In this week's Bible reading from Luke 21:25-36, he’s talking about the powers of the heavens being shaken. Who are the powers of the heavens? In Jesus time that was Rome. For Christians, Rome represented everything that was wrong with the world. Shaking up the powers of the heavens pointed to a change in the way things worked. It offered hope to those who lived under the rule of tyrants. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on November 29, 2009)
"The Truth" The Truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. John 8:32. The word “Truth” is in the Bible between 130 and 300 times (depending on which translation you are using.) That is way more than preach (about a dozen times), way less than love (over 500 times) and about the same as money. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on November 22, 2009)
"Bitterness of Soul" Peninnah: I must admit . . . I don’t like her. Peninnah treated Hannah cruelly. She provoked her just to irritate her. What she did to Hannah was awful, unkind, unconscionable and simply mean. In this week’s reading from 1 Samuel 1:4-20, her cruelty is glaring. Yes. She was jealous. Elkanah was more generous with Hannah. Peninnah acted out that jealousy. But what she did was bullying. It was cruel and unnecessary. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on November 15, 2009)
"Family" According to this week’s Bible reading from Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17, here’s how Ruth’s family functioned: Find a relative of your dead husband. Follow your mother-in-law’s instructions for what to do to seek security for you and for her. Attempt to seduce him so that he will marry you . . . (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on November 8, 2009)
"Wherever You Go" This morning we go beyond the words that are easy to pronounce and into the realm of the book of Ruth. Elimelech and Naomi went with their sons Mahlon and Chilion beyond the land of Judah – the land of their ancestors, to Moab, the land of their cousins . . . cousins with a tenuous and sometimes violent past. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on November 1, 2009)
"Have Mercy" Buffets: Today’s sermon is a bit like a buffet lunch. There’s going to be a lot to think about. You probably won’t want to think about it all. You will likely want to spend a whole lot of time thinking about one little piece of it. Even with all that’s here – I’m not going to put every thought possibility in this sermon buffet. So let your mind wander. Let your mind focus. Let your mind run with a particular thought. Enjoy the buffet. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on October 25, 2009)
"Trouble" James and John had the nickname "Sons of Thunder." Jesus gave them that nickname. Once a Samaritan village rejected Jesus. The Sons of Thunder wanted to bring fire down from heaven to kill everyone.These two were wildmen. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on October 18, 2009)
"Who Owns You?" (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kathy Lawes on October 11, 2009)
"Children" Please be sure to keep your seat belts fastened during today’s flight. Things could get a little bit bumpy . . . Because today’s Bible reading is a favorite to use for scriptural abuse. . . Why do we use the Bible to cut people down? It’s too easy to look at the first part of this week’s reading from Mark 10:2-16 and think, "Wow – Jesus hates divorced people!" . . . Context is REALLY important here, however. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on October 4, 2009)
"People" Some bits of trivia from the book of Esther:
"Welcome" When Jesus walked the earth, children held little, if any social value. They were necessary as people who would someday grow up and become productive, of course, but until then, children were insignificant – as valuable as. . . trash. And Jesus took a little child in his arms and said to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on September 20, 2009)
"Christ" Questions for which there are no good answers: Do you like my new hairstyle? Does my butt look fat in these jeans? Do you know how fast you were going?(This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on September 13, 2009)
"Ephphatha" If you’ve ever gotten an email from me or read something I wrote for the online community of the United Church of Christ, i.ucc.org, or somewhere seen something related to me that has the name "Prouddog" attached to it, you may have wondered what it means. Why would I use the name prouddog? Really – wouldn’t kirkmoore be something much more understandable? Where does this prouddog come from? (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on September 6, 2009)
"Care" When I was growing up, I often heard the phrase, "I'm not religious -- I'm a Christian!" in response to questions that often were about church and church attendance. The response really grew out of a disdain for the term "religious" (or religion, for that matter) because for too many people, religious meant "pompous." (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on August 30, 2009)
"One Day" What’s better? Listen to some notable ‘It is better to’ quotes:
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" -- Mark Twain (also ascribed to Abraham Lincoln)
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front." -- Nelson Mandela . . . .(This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on August 23, 2009)
"A Wise and Discerning Mind" King David died. Solomon became King. God said, ‘What do you want?" and Solomon asked for wisdom. God gave Solomon not only wisdom, but also riches and honor all his life. Therefore, may we all seek to be like Solomon. The end. ??? (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on August 16, 2009)
"Imitators" Actors portray people different than they are in movies and on television, but the audience knows that, as believable a character as they express, they are still pretending to be someone else. When Mister Rogers encouraged children to be part of the neighborhood of make-believe, he was encouraging them to use their imaginations to pretend – but no to try make what was pretend into something that others thought was real. But folks do take the pretend and try to make it real. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on August 9, 2009)
"Bread of Life" In this week’s Bible reading from John 6:24-35, Jesus said to them — “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Bread is both a symbol of life – and something that is necessary for life. Bread means nourishment to someone who is hungry. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on August 2, 2009)
"Rough Seas" Food and Water. This week’s Bible passage (John 6:1-21) describes two very familiar miracles of Jesus from the Gospels: The Feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on July 26, 2009)
"They Took Offense at Him" Just suppose . . . That we re-imagined this week’s Bible reading from Mark 6:1-13 and wondered how it would play out several different ages: (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on July 5, 2009)
"A Taste of What Will Be" Podcast - (This sermon was preached by Fred Moore (Kirk's Dad!) on June 28, 2009)
"Waves" Those who ‘rock the boat’, even though history often views them as visionary, are usually seen as trouble by whatever people or forces are powerful at the moment. Pastors denounced the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s call for nonviolent protest. As we speak religious leaders in Iran are threatening violence against citizens who gather or march in protest to the election results and corruption there. But in this week’s reading – it’s not some kind of protest or human anger that is literally rocking the boat. In this week’s Bible reading, it looks perhaps as if God is somehow active in the storm that rocked the disciple’s boat. Jesus woke up during the storm and, probably a little crabby after just waking from a nap, he told the storm to STOP. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on June 21, 2009)
"God's Realm" I’ve said this about parables before: "Parables confuse, anger and irritate folks so that people will think beyond the words and beyond what may seem obvious into something deeper and soul-enriching." And this morning we’re going to be possibly confused, angered and irritated. We’re going to think beyond the words and what seems obvious into something deeper and soul enriching.(This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on June 14, 2009)
"Speaking in Tongues" This week I’ve been reading the book: Signs and Wonders: Why Pentecostalism is the World’s Fastest Growing Faith. It wasn’t the first book on my "I really have to read this" list. But
"Lars and the Real Girl" (This sermon was preached by Rev. Robert Dell on Sunday- May 24, 2009)
"Love One Another" What does that look like? Love one another. From the context of this week’s Bible reading from John 15:9-17: It’s not about romance; It is about mutual affection and genuine respect; It is about the kind of love that makes a person willing to give up their life for someone else’s. The command from Jesus is "Love one another as I have loved you." What does that look like? (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday- May 17, 2009)
"Vine and Branches" I’ve been serving in ministry for more than 20 years. I’ve been a minister to children, adults – and for the majority of the time, to youth. Several years ago I was part of a group talking about this week’s Bible reading from John 15:1-8 – the one with the vine and the branches. I was pointing out how branches do what they do – they bear fruit. They do it because it is . . . just what they do. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday- May 10, 2009)
"One Flock" Sheep: I've seen several versions of that video of a sheep running into a wall. It's usually used as evidence that all sheep are stupid. Does that mean that one person tripping and falling is evidence that all humans are clumsy? (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday- May 3, 2009)
"In Joy Disbelieving" It was too soon for these early followers of Jesus to grasp the resurrection. Forget whether they would believe it actually happened at some time in the future or whether Bible scholars would debate it's validity a couple thousand years later. These followers were still reeling from the death of their leader -- and now there were reports that he was back! This week's Bible reading is from Luke 24:36b-48. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday- April 26, 2009)
"Questions" Last week’s Bible reading from Mark 16:1-8 left things hanging. In this week’s reading from John 20:19-31 . . . things are still unresolved. Before we jump to the "Mark and John are written at different times and from different traditions" discussion, let’s ask some questions about the fearful disciples and their experience in this week’s reading. Why were the disciples hiding? . . . (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday- April 19, 2009)
"They Were Afraid" The young man dressed in a white robe said, "Do not be alarmed" The women who were at the tomb reacted by fleeing in terror and amazement: "they were afraid." (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Easter Sunday- April 12, 2009)
"Foot Washing" When you’re a guest, what kind of hospitality do you expect from the host? When you’re a host, what kind of hospitality do you think you should show to your guests? (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Maundy Thursday- April 9, 2009)
"The Passion of the Christ" I saw that movie, The Passion of the Christ, when it came out a few years back. I was one of the people who really appreciated the filmmaking, the editing, the way the story came alive on the screen and the emotions it brought out from the audience. I also didn't think it was a movie everyone should see. The violence, gore and complete anguish I saw as it related to the main characters was difficult for me, one who mostly watches films as films instead of life-changing experiences, to watch. This morning’s Bible reading (a long one) brings up some of the memories of seeing the movie. I find myself wanting a different memory and a different reaction when I read the text -- instead of the images I saw on the screen. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Palm/Passion Sunday - April 5, 2009)
"Forgotten" I love to hear a good R & B love song. Let me listen to the soothing sounds of Barry White or Brian McKnight (I’ve been watching Celebrity Apprentice this season – and loved his singing on last week’s episode) with a song that celebrates people in love. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday - March 29, 2009)
"No Matter What" Backwards: It’s much easier to "give thanks in troubled times" after we’ve endured and passed through the troubled times. This week’s reading from Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 is a great example of praising God in troubled times . . . but doing it after the troubled times are over. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday - March 22, 2009)
"Good News/Bad News" I’ve heard of, and experienced the ‘dulling’ or powerful words when they’ve been repeated so often that they don’t seem to hold any meaning anymore. But I’ve also experienced the profound comfort that comes when I can think of nothing else except for what I have repeated to the point of not only memorization, but subconscious internalization. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday - March 15, 2009)
"Everlasting Covenant" Second Sunday in Lent – Today we’re going to prepare to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection by looking back . . . back . . . back – to Abraham, Sarah and . . . Well, that’s pretty much it, according to this week’s reading. This week the Bible reading, I think, does a disservice. It omits some important stuff and only reveals part of the story. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday - March 8, 2009)
"Show Me the Path" The Psalms are raw and honest expressions of the heart of the writers. I’ve said before that they don’t work well as ‘proof texts’ of God’s promises, but they do open a window of authenticity to the state of our hearts as we continue on a journey of faith. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday - March 1, 2009)
"Now is the Time" I love time travel movies, books and television shows. I remember being fascinated the first time I watched HG Wells' “The Time Machine” on WGN’s Family Classics in the early 70’s. I loved the Back to the Future films and even Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I have read the more recently published “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and loved Television shows like Quantum Leap, Timecop (yup – it was a short-lived series too!) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Recently, I learned that a real, respected and current scientist, Ronald Mallett, is working on plans for a real time machine. A couple of years ago he published a book called Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality. Spike Lee has acquired the rights to the book and is adapting it for an upcoming movie, too. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on Ash Wednesday - February 25, 2009)
"Sodium Percarbonate" My parents taught me how to use a washing machine to do laundry. I learned about how to fill the machine, how to keep the colors vibrant and how to get even the white fabrics sparkling clean. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on February 22, 2009)
"Disobeying Jesus" Jesus healed a man with a skin disease. This man was restored back to health, and he was warned by Jesus to keep quiet about the healing and to go to a priest so that he could be restored to the community – the community that he was outcast from because of his disease. The man didn’t listen. He went out and started telling anyone who would listen, "I’ve been healed! I’ve been healed! Jesus healed me!"(This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on February 15, 2009)
"Missing the Forest for the Trees" (This sermon was preached by Rev. Becky Nystrom on February 8, 2009)
"A New Teaching" Every so often I play a concert for a group of children or a group of youth. It’s wonderful fun for me, and, I hope, the audience. And whenever I have a "gig" booked, I update my Facebook music calendar and the ‘iLike’ application that lists me as an ‘artist." When I list an upcoming concert, the iLike calendar shows that I am "on tour." Though I perform very few times in a year, it’s fun to see that I’m ‘on tour’ every so often. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on February 1, 2009)
"Another Sunday School Song" Jesus waited until John was arrested before starting his public ministry. Either he wasn’t quite ready to begin, or he held back on starting until John (who could have become a competitor rather than a herald) was out of the picture. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on January 25, 2009)
"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" Sometimes a good "WOW!" really helps to lift my spirit. Last week I took a vacation to Bonaire, a tiny island in the South Caribbean. Each day I snorkeled and scuba-dived in the sea and saw some pretty awesome sights (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on January 18, 2009)
"Directions" The days of being able to tell the joke about men never asking for directions (and have folks laugh) are near over. While not everyone has access to computer directions and GPS navigation, young people growing up today may not yet have, nor will they ever experience stopping at a gas station to ask for directions. Their children almost certainly will not. It seems that where we travel is now determined in advance and mapped out for us. Even the drive with no apparent destination can be, and often is, mapped out by satellite. (This sermon was preached by Rev. Kirk Moore on January 4, 2009)
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