thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: June 2014
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Sunday, June 15, 2014. Sermon: "One is the Loneliest Number". Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. June 15, 2014 – Trinity Sunday. 8220;One is the Loneliest Number”. If you were a child growing up in China, you would probably be familiar with the story of P'an Ku. P’an Ku is a fur wearing giant, and he’s the central character in an ancient Chinese creation story. P’an Ku is hatched from a giant cosmic egg. And fittingly, the fleas that crawl on his fur become humankind. When he flew d...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: March 2015
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015_03_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Sunday, March 15, 2015. Sermon: "For God So Loved the World.". Our Old Testament text this morning is one that may not be familiar to many of us. It’s a story from the Jewish Exodus – the time when the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness looking for the Promised Land. The takeaway lesson for the Israelites here is that God has the power to punish transgressions, but for those who show remorse and seek forgiveness, healing is always offered. Here is the text from the bo...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: May 2015
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Sunday, May 24, 2015. Sermon: "Speaking in Tongues". Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. May 24, 2015 – Day of Pentecost. Romans 8:22-27; Acts 2:1-21. 8220;Speaking in Tongues”. Many years ago, in a far away country, a group of men sat huddled together in a darkened space. They were hiding from an enemy who wished to do them harm. Suddenly fire rained down from the sky and the sound of people shouting in many languages filled the air. And then there was silence. One soldier described...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: August 2014
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Monday, August 4, 2014. Sermon: "Heaven and Hell". Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. August 3, 2014 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost. 1 Kings 3:5-12; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. 8220;Heaven and Hell”. Imagine that you fell asleep one night and God came to you in a dream. Not an imagined encounter with God conjured up by your subconscious because you have some unresolved issue that you’re wrestling with, but a real encounter with the real God. What is it that you would ask for? When the...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: October 2014
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Thursday, October 23, 2014. Sermon: "The Prosperity Gospel". Artist's conception of the pre-1835 Amherst meetinghouse before. It was moved off the village green and remodeled. Drawing by Philip S. Avery. The Rev. Maureen Frescott. Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Faith Promise Sunday. 8220;The Prosperity Gospel”. The year was 1739. 37 years before our nation was born. A special committee was formed to plan the ordination and installation, and th...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: May 2014
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Sunday, May 18, 2014. Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. May 18, 2014 – Fifth Sunday of Easter. 8220;Throwing Stones”. Whenever I’m tired, stressed out, or in need of a rejuvenating diversion I turn to the same spiritual practice that I’ve come to rely on for the past 15 years. I put on HGTV and watch House Hunters. The premise of the show is simple. Through House Hunters we also discover that happiness and contentment is often relative. As we watch a family from Texas walk into a h...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: Sermon: "Yin and Yang"
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015/07/sermon-yin-and-yang.html
The Pastor is IN. Monday, July 13, 2015. Sermon: "Yin and Yang". Congregational Church of Amherst, United Church of Christ. July 12, 2015 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Proverbs 8:1-11, 22-36. 8220;Yin and Yang”. We live in the age of information. Most of us carry in our pockets a device that is capable of accessing the knowledge of the world’s libraries, universities, and think tanks. Through the power of the Internet we can become experts in any field that interests us;. But the fact that the Intern...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: Sermon: "Children's Church"
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015/06/sermon-childrens-church.html
The Pastor is IN. Monday, June 8, 2015. Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. June 7, 2015 – Second Sunday of Pentecost. Isaiah 11:6-9; Mark 10:13-16. 8220;Children’s Church”. In the summer of 1948, my parents, Ruth and Gus, decided they needed to escape the heat of NY’s Long Island and travel to some place exotic. So they got in the car and drove to Ohio. My mother’s sister, Alice, lived in Ohio, in farm country, and my mom and dad were hoping the fresh air and wide open space would do them good. My ol...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: July 2015
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015_07_01_archive.html
The Pastor is IN. Monday, July 27, 2015. The Rev. Maureen Frescott. Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. July 26, 2015 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21. Let’s get this out of the way right up front. Many of us struggle with stories about miracles. Whether we’re talking about Jesus walking on water or the friend of a friend we know who believes that her cousin was healed of cancer solely through the power of prayer. 8220;Yeah, I’m not THAT kind of Christian.”. I have a copy...
thepastorisin.blogspot.com
The Pastor is IN: Sermon: "Metamorphosis"
http://thepastorisin.blogspot.com/2015/07/sermon-metamorphosis.html
The Pastor is IN. Monday, July 27, 2015. The Rev. Maureen Frescott. Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC. July 26, 2015 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21. Let’s get this out of the way right up front. Many of us struggle with stories about miracles. Whether we’re talking about Jesus walking on water or the friend of a friend we know who believes that her cousin was healed of cancer solely through the power of prayer. 8220;Yeah, I’m not THAT kind of Christian.”. I have a copy...
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT