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| Sunday November 23, 2008 "Thanks and Praise" 2 Chronicles 20:14-21 | Brad's Blog Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on11/24/2008 2:31 PM | |
| Thanksgiving is about remembering.
It’s about remembering where we came from.
When Thanksgiving rolls around every year, I can’t help but think of the Thanksgivings past that I spent with my family. Growing up, my family lived basically in two places: the rural area of Michigan known as “The Thumb”, and the biggest city in the state, Detroit.
My father grew up in the Thumb, in a place called Sandusky and my mother had lots of aunts, uncles and cousins in the next town over, Marlette. In fact, my mother, who was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Detroit, actually lived on her grandparents farm for one year in Marlette, when she was 5 years old. That’s where she met my father, at the Flynn Township Red Star School…a one room school house that my father attended until he went to high school.
When I was a small child, we would go up to the Thumb and have Thanksgiving with my grandparents, or my great Uncle Jim and Aun ... |  | |
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| | Keeping the Celebration | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on11/19/2008 11:02 AM | |
| Greetings on this crisp, clear day!
Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow. Advent begins in about 10 days. And we all know what that means: that Christmas is not far away, either. Sometimes, it seems to me that things come so fast that I don’t have the time to truly celebrate and observe the holidays. The distractions of all the activities, while good and fun, can sometimes pull us away from the spiritual disciplines that the different holidays cry out for. And when we don’t take the time to stop, think, pray and celebrate, we will indeed miss something.
My advice? Plan to take some time every day to be with God, alone, in prayer and conversation. Take a few minutes to read the Bible, to read the Advent books that the Elders have provided for us. Take some time to give thanks, to recommit to following the teachings of Jesus even more closely in the days ahead, to celebrate that God is with us in the person of the baby born in a stable in Be ... | | |
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| | Veteran's Day | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on11/12/2008 3:52 PM | |
| Greetings on this grey day,
As we close in on one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, many of us paused yesterday to give thanks for those who have served this country in war, in peace, in times of great uncertainty, in times of great calm. I am of course talking about the Veterans of our various military branches. And truth be told, we ought to stop far more than once a year to say “thank you” to these dedicated men and women. In this day and time, it is too easy to put aside what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for us, because we don’t see it, up close and persona. Whether they are actively engaged in protecting us, or actively involved in hostilities, they stand ready to do so at a moment’s notice. With our “smart” weapons and long range missiles, it is easy to think that our military folks can somehow keep “distant” from harm’s way. But of course, that is absurd. When wars are carried out, military personnel are in harms way, always. If you know a vete ... | | |
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| | Sunday November 9, 2009 "Laying the Foundation" Ezra 3: 10-13 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on11/11/2008 10:27 AM | |
| The Book of Ezra picks up where the Book of Chronicles ends: with an account of the return to Jerusalem of the exiles in Babylon. Ezra and it’s companion book, Nehemiah, tell the story of what happened during those confusing times.
Make no mistake about it, they were most certainly confusing times. The leadership of Jerusalem had been carried away to Babylon years before. They had found a new life in Babylon. It was not a horrible exile, a punitive imprisoning exile, but it was exile nonetheless. They were away from their home, away from their holiest temple, away from the center of their religious and their civic life.
Then, in the edict of Cyrus of Persia, conqueror of Babylon, they were told to go home. Told to rebuild the city, rebuild the temple, rebuild their lives. Let’s be clear: this was the idea of Cyrus, their enemy, who reported that this edict was conveyed to him as God’s will. Cyrus didn’t just let them go. He helped them get home. He d ... | | |
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| | Election Day | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on11/5/2008 9:01 AM | |
| Greetings on this wonderful day,
This morning I went by the dry cleaners before I headed to the church. I passed two different polling places on the way, and what I saw was pretty incredible. It was about 7:15 in the morning and the scene was exactly the same at both places…cars jamming the parking lot, cars lined up down side streets, a huge crowd of people in a thick line snaking around the parking lot and down the sidewalk! I am told that here at BCC, the line snaked from the back fellowship hall doors around the church into the front parking lot, some 200 people long. I’ve seen lines to vote before, but for lots of reasons, this sight was especially moving to me.
First, in my former life as a political appointee and then a professor of Political Science, political participation was a sermon that I preached over and over and over again. The more we participate, the more the government and the policies of that government will reflect our will. If we sit ... | | |
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| | Slow Dance | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on10/29/2008 1:28 PM | |
| Greetings on this beautiful fall day,
When I was a kid, I remember my mother saying, “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get”. It seemed kind of silly to me, but, now I definitely know what she meant. We live in a world where everything is now, now, now, more, more, more…yet the more we work, the harder we try, we do not find peace, just frayed nerves and less time with our families and friends. And when we find ourselves caught in that trap of immersing ourselves more and more in work and acquisition, we too often find ourselves losing the foundation that sustains us: our faith, our families. We can get so distracted that we forget about what is really important. I’ve done it, and I bet you have, too.
This week, Chuck Daunch forwarded me an e-mail from a friend of his who is battling cancer, yet seeking ways to honor God through his struggle by sharing the light of hope that his relationship with God offers h ... | | |
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| | Sunday October 16, 2008 "Jesus: The Truth King" John 18:36-38a | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on10/29/2008 9:12 AM | |
| Sunday October 26, 2008
“Jesus: The Truth King”
John 18: 36-38a
“What is truth?”
For centuries, some Christians have sneered at Pilate’s question at the so-called “trial” of Jesus. They have interpreted his question as mocking, but I personally think it is a logical question. In no way am I condoning Pilate’s handling of the situation. He clearly didn’t think Jesus had done anything wrong, yet allowed the temple leadership to have their way by executing Jesus. It would have been nice had he stood up to them in his role of protector of Roman interests, as Governor of this small, backward outpost. But he didn’t, because order was more important to him that “truth.”
I have often wondered, did the question nag at Pilate? Did he every lay awake at night wondering about Jesus’ responses to his questions? Did he carry guilt about washing his hands of the whole matter?
It is a difficult question: “What is ... | | |
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| | Downtime | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on10/22/2008 11:25 AM | |
| Greetings on this beautiful fall day,
If you are like me, you need to get away. Oh, I’m not talking about leaving town, or finding some deserted island beach, although, that does sound nice. No, I’m talking about getting away from all the noise of the news…the election, the economy, the endless drumbeat of somber pronouncements concerning so many things: health, crime, natural disasters. And while I truly believe that the news media in this country do us a great service in helping to keep us informed, there are times when I just need to get away from it all. And so, this week, I have tried to do just that. As a wise friend counseled, “Just turn it off, man!”
When I am alone in the car, I usually have the radio on. I try to find music and no talking, but that is almost impossible. So, this week, no radio, no i-pod plugged into my car stereo, no nuthin’. And you know what, it seems to work. I read the newspaper in the morning, but try to put aside the edit ... | | |
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| | Sunday October 19, 2008 "Josiah: The Restoring King" 2 Kings 22:1-13, 23:1-3 | | Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on10/21/2008 8:21 AM | |
| My mother used to talk about folks who were “good people.” Those folks who were the first to be there to help. Those folks who never sought any attention. Those folks who just lived right. “Good people.”
Have you ever known any “good people?” Of course you have. Some of the folks who fit that category are sitting in this room right now. And a lot of times you see families that all exhibit these traits. When a parent does what’s right and sets a good example for their kids, it’s easy to understand how “good people” characteristics are passed from generation to generation.
But what of the person who does not have that example? What of the person who grows up in a household where bitterness and self-centeredness and even violence are the norm? How do you explain when a child that comes from that kind of unstable situation turns out to be “good people?”
Amos Brown was one of those people in my life. When I was a freshman in colle ... | | |
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| | Hope | | Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on10/16/2008 8:28 AM | |
| Greetings on the GORGEOUS day!
It is weeks like this past week that really bring some things into focus for me. It helps me to keep the important things in perspective. It helps me to remember what is truly most important. And it helps me to realize just how important this thing we call church really is.
I don’t need to tell you what a roller coaster the last week has been. When the Dow Jones Industrials closed in such low territory last Friday, the fear was palpable. It wasn’t helped by the fact that every newscast, news update and talk show over the weekend told us what bad shape our retirement funds were in! I even heard one of the announcers on the baseball game on Sunday night talk about it. C’mon, ya knuckleheads, I watching this to escape from the real world! There was very little evidence of a precious commodity that we all were craving: hope. When I realized that Monday was a federal holiday I thought, “Well, at least the stock market will be clo ... | | |
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