Sermons for January 2010

Jan. 3, 2010 - Behaving Theologically in 2010 - Colossians 3:12-17 - Done right, theology controls our behavior. I am sad to say, upon investigation, I believe we will find that most of us lead lives that are the inverse of that statement. Rather than living life in a way where theology controls our behavior, we live life in a way where our behavior controls our theology. But as the text say, we should "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." If we do, we will find ourselves not only living life differently - but better.

Jan 10, 2010 - The Refugee King - Matthew 2:7-15 - If we are going to have an accurate understanding of what the birth and life of Jesus was like and what it was about, we must begin to understand that he was a refugee, a person who never really had a home in this world. When God came into our midst in Jesus, God identified with and embraced the circumstances of the most marginal and vulnerable members of our human family, the displaced, the deprived, the disoriented, the disenfranchised. In part, that means we can only see and serve Christ by opening our eyes, hearts and hands to those whose pain he shares.

Jan 17, 2010 - Giving Voice to Our Baptism - Isaiah 42:1-9, Matt. 3:13-17 - in God’s infinite wisdom and compassion before you were even formed God loved you and said this is the one “with whom I am well pleased.” In your baptism you acknowledge that love…now live into it…. It gives voice to what it means to be fully human. It gives voice to our baptisms. It is the only reasonable response to the extravagant grace of God.

Jan 24, 2010 - When The Body of Christ Shoots Itself in the Foot - 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 - Without each part we are not fully the body of Christ – we are something less. So why then, do we spend so much time hurting each other, tearing down other parts? Gossiping – talking poorly about other parts. Making racial comments – devaluing other parts. Getting upset because some part isn’t exactly like we want it to be? No one is exempt. It happens in all churches. It happens in this church. We are shooting ourselves in the foot every time we do it. We are hurting the body of Christ.

Inclimate Weather Update!

Tomorrow's 11 o'clock service is ON! But to borrow from my homiletics professor, we will be playing a little jazz (um, not ACTUAL jazz - we are improvising). The Christmas Music Celebration will not be tomorrow, we have moved it to next Sunday. Tomorrow's service will be based around Christmas Hymns and a brief reflection on John 1:1-14.

Bike Raffle!!

Because of a very gracious donation to the church, we have two fantastic bikes to raffle off as a fund raiser. The drawing for the bikes will be held at Vandalia on December the 16th at 6pm.

Come by the church office from 9-11am Tuesday thru Friday to by your tickets OR pick them up after worship on Sunday.

Here's the details on the bikes:

Trek Mens 3700 (above) - 16" Frame, 21 Speed.

Trek Ladies Skye Silver (below) - 16" frame, 21 Speed.

Both bikes can be exchanged to fit the person who wins. Bicycle store quality.

Good luck!

Sermons for Advent 2009

Nov. 29 - Waiting for Hope - Luke 21:25-36

Dec. 6 - Waiting for Love - Philippians 1:3-11

Dec. 13 - Waiting for Peace - Isaiah 11:1-9

Dec. 20 - Christmas Music Celebration

Sermons for November 8, 15, and 22

Nov. 8 – Psalm 146 – “Unspoken Hallelujahs” - In these few short verses, we are given a clear understanding of what our lives should look like if we wish to lead lives that praise God.

Nov. 15 – Mark 13:1-13 - “The End Is Near(er)?” - "The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." That was written in 2800 BCE (or BC). Those who try to make this Sunday's verses apocalyptic are missing the larger value of seeing them as prophetic. Jesus is not speaking about a destruction that will be, but an all-together different kind of destruction that could be if we aren't willing to stand over and against corrupt systems – even if it is the church (or parts of it).

Nov. 22 – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 - “The Giving That Is A Thanksgiving” - One of the traditional symbols for Thanksgiving is a Horn of Plenty. More than any other time of year, the Holiday Season into which we are entering reminds us of how bountiful our lives really are. Praise, prayer and worship are wonderful ways to give thanks to God, but God's preferred thanks giving...is giving.

Sermons For October and the First Sunday of November

Oct. 18, 2009

Message: Jesus' Third Way

Scripture: Luke 6:27-38

Oct. 25, 2009

Message: Building Arks, Surviving Flood and Rainbow Promises

Scripture: Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24, 8:14-19, 9:8-17

Nov. 1, 2009

Message: Can You Hear Me Now?

Scripture: Mark 6:1-13

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 27, 2009

More Sins Than Body Parts – Costly Grace
Mark 9:38-50

Bonhoeffer accuses the modern church of looking for “cheap grace.” I have to say that, in general, he is right. Jesus, on the other hand, in today's scripture speaks of paying the price for our sins. Basically, he says we should start lopping of body parts as they sin. Admittedly, this behavior seems a little extreme, but let's face – Jesus was extreme. The texts invite us to a deeper consideration of how to address our sins, of how self-righteousness and grace are related, and what the ultimate price should be.

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 20, 2009

The Secret of the Windows Mite

Mark 12:38-44

Jesus talked about two topics more than any other. they were not love, prayer, or faith. They were the kingdom of God and material possessions or money. He talked about what the world would be like if we lived out the values God wants us to live out. He talked about material possessions and how relationship with them both affect and reflects our relationship with God. The interesting thing is how neatly the two very important things to Jesus fit together - if we get our money and our life choices lined up with the values that God wants for us, the the world would be a much better place - much closer to the Kingdom of God that Jesus said could be lived out here and now. The secret of the widows mite will help us understand this a little more clearly.

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 13, 2009

Bread from Heaven: Food for Thought

Exodus 16:2-15

Abundance and scarcity – it is easy to believe, to say, that we put our trust in God. It is much harder to actually do it. Do we believe that we too can experience bread from heaven? Just as the people of Israel were asked to trust God in exchange for their heavenly gift, we too are asked to trust in God rather than in ourselves or the things of this world.

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 6, 2009

"Crumbs From the Table - Canaanite Insight"

Mark 7:24-30

Jesus, the Christ, learned a life-changing lesson from a common Canaanite woman. She was a person that did not fit into the typical image the disciples tried to pigeonhole people of faith into, but she challenged Jesus and stretched him and pushed him to see a new possibility for ministry to the Gentiles. There are people all around us who can do the very same thing, even in a culture that is often seen as "going to the dogs."

Vandalia's 50th Anniversary

It is an exceptionally exciting time around Vandalia. August 30 will mark our 50th anniversary and we are taking the whole month of August to celebrate it!

We've assembled an incredibly capable Anniversary Committee and they have put together a FANTASTIC month of celebration for us!

We hope you will come join us every Sunday. Old members, current member and even those who are interested in finding a church home should join us in this look at our past as we move forward with God into our future.

Here's what we have planned.

Aug. 2nd

Theme: Vandalia Family Reunion

Event: Pig Pickin' following the service

Minister: Mark Sandlin

Aug. 9th

Theme: Looking Back

Minister: Paul Ridolfi

Aug. 16th

Theme: No Place like HOME

Event: Covered Dish after the service

Special Presentation by Sarah Freeman

Minister: Mark Sandlin

Aug. 23rd

Theme: Give Me That Old Time Religion

As special service of Old Hymns and Scripture

Minister: Mark Sandlin

Aug. 30th

Theme: Celebration of our History

Minister: Chuck Clotsburger

The service will include communion and recognition of all past ministers

Event: Cake and Ice Cream following the service!!!

Message Schedule for the remainder of July 2009

July 12 - A Call to Thaw to Frozen Chosen - 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 - You may or may not be aware of it, but we Presbyterians have a nickname amongst many of the other denominations - "The Frozen Chosen." Now some of you will find that funny, while other offensive, but the bottom line is (for the most part) it's pretty fair. Presbyterians have come to value rationalism and control over passion and reckless abandon when it comes to worshiping God. Here in 2nd Samuel, we have a story that suggest the appropriate responce to being in the presences of God is a little less frozen and a little more joyful.

July 19 - "Don't Fence Me In" -God - 2 Samuel 7:1-14 - God moves about in a tent. God moves as God wills. God is not locked into one place, one window through which to see the world. God moves about in a tent gaining a new perspective with every step. Living in a tent, God is prepared to deal with the harsh realities of the world. You see, our God is a living God – not a stagnate God. Packing up camp when needed and making a move toward people where they are.

July 26 -"Teach Us HOW To Pray" - Luke 11:1-13 - Most Sundays the drone of prayer can be heard echoing from churches… (lifeless) “Our father – who art in heaven – hollowed be thy name – thy kingdom come…” Do you ever feel…challenged, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer? The Lord’s Prayer, when prayed with real understanding, is a challenging prayer, a prayer that convicts us and a prayer that reassures us.

August should be posted soon. The entire month will be devoted to celebrating Vandalia's 50th anniversary. It will be a great time together!

Lectionary Planning June and 1st Week of July

June 7

"The Not-So-Great De-Commissioning?" 

Matthew 28:16-20

The last recorded words of Christ have come to be known (thanks to King James) as "The Great Commission."  A closer look at these words will tell us that they are much more complicated than we make them out to be.  A closer look at the modern church will tell us that (at least in recent times) by taking our eyes off of the zeitgeist of contemporary society (or worse yet, intentionally minimizing it), we have also taken our eyes of of the great commission (or worse yet, effectively de-commissioned ourselves).

June 14

"Growth Through Knowledge"

Mark 4:26-34

At least here in Mark the parable of the mustard seed might not be everything we have made it out to be - it may actually be much more.  Taken in context of the larger chapter and considering the echos of other great teachers of the day and then finally placed within its cultural setting, we begin to understand that growing the Kingdom of God (here on earth) begins humbly with the seeds of knowledge.

June 21

Job 38:1-41, 41:9-42:6

"Let God be God"

This is God's response to Job trying to call God on what's just. God's response is, let God be God.  In the end you really have no choice.  No matter how hard you try to shape God to fit into the box formed by your personal opinions and biases – God will be God.  Even in that knowledge, however, we still try to shape God’s word to fit our own personal values and beliefs.  We push our agendas by trying to say they are God’s will.  When we do that, just like Job and his friends, we are guilty of using God’s name in vain, of using God’s name for false reasons.

June 29

Guest Minister

July 5

John 9:1-41

“None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See”

Our gospel reading today is a story of vision.  Not a story of blindness, not a story of seeing – it is a story of vision.  Too frequently, we focus on the blindness.  Too frequently, we focus on the gaining of sight.  Today we will concern ourselves with the problem of vision.

Lectionary Planning for May 2008

With apologies, due to time constraints, here are the texts and sermon titles through the end of May, without descriptions of the sermons.  Think of it as a game - based on the scripture and sermon title see if you can determine the direction of the message. ;-)

May 3

John 10:11-17

"Wolves and Hired Hands: The Voices We Hear"

May 10

Acts 8:26-40

"Justice Was Denied"

May 17

John 15:9-17

"The Happy Prince"

May 24

1 John 5:9-13

"Testify: Letting Your Life Speak"

May 31

Acts 2:1-21 

"Spirit of Gentleness? I Think Not."

Lectionary Planning through Easter Sunday

March 29

Dying to Live

John 12:20-36

Life is full of endings - the death, the finish of something.  When you think about it, the things that scare us, disappoint us, bother us, and sometimes offend us the most are not solely the things themselves, but rather, it is partly about how those things represent an ending to us…and our human instinct is to react negatively to endings.  Endings seem so final. The funny thing is, death is an important part of life.  

Jesus said, “Unless a seed dies, it remains only one seed; but if it dies, it produces many seeds and small seedlings of love which then grow into great love.” It is hard to consider ending things in order for something new to begin, but, in part, that is what living a Christian life is about.

April 5

Lives that Shout "Hosanna"

Mark 11:1-10; Mark 15:1-15

This week we celebrate the Palms and the Passion - the triumphant ride and the laborous walk. On this Sunday, every year, I like to encourage us to place ourselves into the crowd on each of those events and consider how easy it would have been to be a part of either crowd.  And then, consider how even today we are at times a part of each crowd: those who shout "Crucify Him" and those who shout "Hosanna."

April 12

Easter Music Celebation

Lectionary Planning for 3 weeks of March 2009

March 8, 2009

Mark 8:31-38 

"Getting Cross"

Crosses were a sign of death in Jesus' days.  Not just death - it was a painful, humiliating capital punishment.  The closest we have to it today in the US might be the electric chair.  Yet, we seem to miss the impact of what the cross was supposed to communicate.  We wear them around our necks, tattoo them on our arms and hang them on the walls of our churches.  All of them cast in gold, embellished with artful swirls or carved out of the finest wood.  Can you imagine all of us walking around with electric chairs hanging from our necks, tattooed on our arms and hanging on the front walls of our sanctuaries.  Along with our golden, cleaned-up crosses, we seem to have cleaned up our understanding of what it means to be Christian.  Much like we've turned this difficult and brutal form of capital punishment into an easier to handle image, we've turned Christianity into an easier to handle religion.  Gone is the hard sacrifice that the cross was meant to symbolize.  Gone is the personal sacrifices that we are asked to make: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."  It's time to instead of cleaning up our act to - well, messy it up a bit.  To take seriously the sacrifices God requires of us.  It is time to really understand what it means to take up our crosses (our modern day electric chairs) and get to the difficult business of truly living out a Christian life.

March 15, 2009

John 2:13-25

"Destroying the Temple: Radical Reform"

As many ministers have pointed out, it wasn't Bingo that Jesus was talking about when he over turned the money changer's tables.  Jesus was making a statement that was delivered on many levels.  A statement to the Roman guards who watched from the walls above.  A statement to business people who would take advantage of poor and weary travelers.  A statement to the heads of the temple who were allowing corrupt policies.  In all likelihood this was the beginning of the end of Jesus.  This was all a bit too radical for those with power: the Roman government, the wealthy business people, and the heads of the powerful religious machine.  Whether he knew what he was doing (in terms of assuring that they would come after him) or it was preordained or if he just stumbled into the situation, really isn't the point here.  What is important is that Jesus was not oblivious to who was watching and how powerful they were, he was just more interested in cleaning up the house of God - no matter what the cost.  The question we have to ask our selves is, how far are we willing to go to, how radical are we willing to be, in order to set God's church right?

March 22, 2009

John 3:14-21

"1 John 3:16"

In John 3:16 we learn how far God went to show us how much we are loved by God.  In 1 John 3:16 we learn how far we are to go in response to that love to show all the children of God how much we love them.

YOUTH LOCK-IN!

Date: March 14-15th

Time: 10:30 pm-9:45 am

Bring: toothbrush/toothpaste (please), yourself, a friend, 

any game(s) you'd like to play

Please feel free to email Chrissy at chrissytatum@gmail.com if you have any questions!  

Video Post of Message from Feb. 15, 2009

"Living an Infinate Life in a Finite World"

please read the scripture for this message before watching:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Living an Infinate Life in a Finite World
Uploaded by marksandlin

(I appologize for the quality of this video.  Adjustments have been made and the next post should be much better.)

Video Post of Message from Feb. 8, 2009

"Zelig and Zeitgeist"

please read the scripture for this message before watching:

1 Corinthians 9:23

Zelig and zeitgeist
Uploaded by marksandlin

Video Post of Message from Feb. 1, 2008

"Sermon Walking"

please read the Scripture for this message before watching:

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon Walking
Uploaded by marksandlin

Lectionary Planning February 2009

Feb 8

"Zelig and Zeitgeist"

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

"Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!" - Paul (The Message)

Feb 15

"Living an Infinite Life in Finite World"

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

One of my all-time favorite books is a little book called "Finite and Infinite Games."  It is written by James P. Carse and in it he makes the argument that there are two approaches to our actions in life.  He sees everything as a "game" - some are finite and some are infinite.  In other words, some have an defined ending and some continue on without end.  The strength of the book, in part, is his theory of how these two perspectives change our approach to life.  As Christians we sometimes get caught up in the finite perspectives of this world and forget to live life in a way that claims assurance of a life everlasting. 

Feb 22

"I Will Never Be The Same Again"

Mark 9:2-9

Today's story is the story of Transfiguration.  I have always said it's the story that reminds us that God can make your whites whiter and your brights brighter - half jokingly of course, but there is a deeper meaning.  Several years ago I was diagnosed as being situationally depressed.  I was put on meds and into therapy.  I was surprised to find that when they all started kicking in, the world was literally a little bit brighter.  It is like I had been looking at it through a thin veil of fog.  It made me think of the first time I put on glasses.  I didn't know the way I was seeing the world should or could be any better, then all of a sudden I had a new...well, clarity about what I saw.  The story of Transfiguration reminds us, among other things, that having a sincere relationship with God, walking with Christ, necessarily means change, change for the better.  It means once we enter into that relationship, we will never be the same again.

Lectionary Planning Jan and 1st Sunday of Feb 2009

The following is my first look at the next four Sundays.  It is my work in process for Sunday messages.  In general, the actual messages will follow these verses, titles and themes.  In a few cases, the verses will stay the same but the titles and themes will be adjustied and refined. 

Jan 11 – Mark 1:4-11 – “Being the Beloved – The Unexpected” – Jesus’ baptism is an interesting scene.  In some ways, it has elements foreshadowing what is to come.  The introduction of both the baptism scene and Jesus himself speaks to what might be expected – which is the unexpected.  The Messiah that they were expecting was a king, a king of kings, a grand ruler.  He was to save them from them heavy handed rulers who had historically oppressed and even enslaved them through the use of might, force and violence.  Presumably, the saving work would be done by someone…well, more powerful and mighty.  Imagine then their surprise when this king of kings is introduced by some nut job running around in the desert in clothes made of camel hair and eating locus and wild honey.  Not what one might expect.  It was, in some ways, a foreshadowing of what it means to be named the “beloved” of God.  Everything we know of Jesus, from this baptism on, tells us what the unexpected life of the beloved should look like.  It isn’t about power and might.  It isn’t about the status quo.  It is about humbleness and servanthood.  It is about the unexpected.

Jan 18 - 1 Samuel 3:1-10 – “Called – Open Ears, Open Minds” – Dr. King did not plan to be a leader in the Civil Rights movement.  Technically, he didn’t even want to.  He wanted to preach, be a professor and maybe ultimately be the Dean of Morehouse, his alma mater.   Here’s the thing though.  He had an open mind and a willingness to listen for God’s voice – even when it called him places he did not want to go.  Samuel also had his ears wide open and it lead to his “Here I am, Lord.”  Stories like Samuel’s and various stories of strong Christian leaders throughout history remind us that God calls us to unexpected and remarkable things, but we have to always open our minds to the possibility of something unexpected and open our ears that we might hear the very voice of God.

Jan 25 – Mark 1:14-20 - “Discipleship Sometimes Means Leaving What We Know Behind” - Those who think discipleship is easy or that it really seldomly requires sacrifices must not have read this part.  I am particularly struck by what it says about James and John, “they left their father Zebedee in the boat...and followed him.”  Wow.  They left there Dad standing there literally holding the net.  I can't imagine doing that to my Dad and that's by today's transient measures.  In their times, James and John were not only tied to their family by blood but also by currency.  Most likely this was the lifeline of the family.  The sons weren't just expected to work the family business, they were needed in the family business.  Without them, it (and the family) would certainly struggle.  Yet, they left it all on Jesus' words, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”  I wonder...how much are we willing to sacrifice to follow Jesus?  How much is Jesus asking of us?

Feb 1 – Deuteronomy 18:15-20 - “Using God's Name in Vain” - I don't like to curse.  It is very seldom that I do it, if ever.  So, few people have even heard such words from my lips.  Now I don't think that makes me a particularly special or a particularly holy person.  As a matter of fact, I happen to be leave that not using God's name in vain has nothing to do with curse words.  I'm amazed at the number of times people get deeply upset by people using them.  Truth is – it doesn't bother me at all.  I'm equally amazed at how those same people don't seem to mind when people like Pat Robertson claim to speak for God and call for things like the assassination of  President Hugo Chavez or says that God caused Ariel Sharon's massive stroke as punishment.  While I don't claim to speak the mind of God, I do think that the God Jesus came to teach us about doesn't smite people – that God loves people.  It is also particularly interesting to note that for Rev. Robertson, it is always people that he himself dislikes that are being smited (smote?).  Today's scripture gives us this understanding of using God's name in vain or for false pretenses, “any prophet  who ...presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak – that prophet shall die.”  Before we jump on the God-will-smite-Pat bandwagon, let's ask ourselves, how many times have we judged other people and in one way or the other have found them to be...well, not quite as close to God as we are?  My question then is - when we do that , in it's own way, are we presuming to speak for God?  Does the God whose book says, “judge not” put those judgments in our mouths or might we too, in a deceptively subtle way, be using God's name in vain?