Pastor’s Blog
Dr. Richard Kremer
The Sin of Narcissus (Philippians 3: 2-7)
The ancient Greeks told the story of a young man who was so extraordinarily handsome that every woman fell in love with him at first sight. But this young man returned no one’s affection. He was so self-absorbed, so self-contained, so focused upon his beauty, his...
Refusing Your True Self (Philippians 2: 3-7; 4: 1-3)
In the Garden of Gethsemane, twelve of twelve disciples failed their Master. For most of them, their failure laid the groundwork for future service. Their failure under pressure caused them to realize how much they needed the strength of their Lord. Eventually, most...
The Disease of More (Exodus 16: 22-27 ; Matthew 6:24)
During this March Madness season, it seems appropriate that the title of the morning sermon comes from a basketball coach. Years ago, the Los Angeles Lakers had such an entertaining team they were known by the nickname, “Showtime.” They won numerous NBA championships...
“To Live is Christ” (Philippians 1: 19-24)
Remember that the letters of Paul were spoken before they were written, or more precisely, they were written as they were spoken. Because of Paul’s declining eyesight, he never wrote anything himself, but dictated his letters to a faithful amanuensis, a fancy word for...
The Wonder and Seriousness of Life (Exodus 20:19; Mark 14: 32-42)
You may not have ever noticed our first Scriptural text for the morning or ever contemplated its context. Moses has come down from the mountain bearing those fundamental instructions from God that we call the Ten Commandments. The Israelites have witnessed Moses in...
The Nature of Happiness (Philippians 4: 10-13)
In Larry McMurtry’s epic novel Lonesome Dove, two old Texas Rangers are riding to Austin to look for a cook, and one of them, Augustus McRae, veers off the trail to ride into a grove of live oaks, down by a beautiful creek. His partner, the no-nonsense Woodrow Call,...
What Books Don’t Tell You About Grief (2 Samuel 21: 10-14)
The text for the morning is complicated, and I do not have time to explicate it in its entirety. (I promise to do so during our ongoing Bible study in 2 Samuel.) Suffice it to say that King David thought it morally correct and politically expedient to hand over to the...
The Morning After Death (Luke 20: 27-40)
The Bustle in a House the Morning After DeathIs the solemnest of industries enacted upon Earth.The Sweeping up the Heart and putting Love awayWe shall not want to use again until Eternity. Those elegant words of Emily Dickinson contrast sharply with the stark,...
The Uneaten Holy Bread ( I Corinthians 11: 23-26)
Every century has its own great Christian prophets, and among the most notable and effective Christian spokesmen of the twentieth century was the Russian writer and political prisoner Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent years in a Stalinist prison camp in Siberia. He...
Forgetting What Lies Behind (Philippians 3: 13-14)
One fascinating aspect of Paul’s letters are his silences, what he leaves unspoken between the lines. We know, for example, that he loved the Philippian church; and they loved him. Yet even in this love letter to them there is that jarring phrase that says, “It is a...