Today at communion I spoke on money.
It was tough. TV Evangelists seem to have no problem speaking about it...but I do.
I wish sometimes we just were millionaires and could just focus on ministry and people, but I live in the real world...and our church, with its growth, is in need of finances. This coming months we are hosting the Artisan Markets, Jazz at the Wood, continuing Toddler Jam...and a host of stuff that blesses our community.

Reality is, without staff and resources we could not do what we do....so today I reminded our church about that, it was not easy.

Then I spoke on Revelation, particularly difficult passage being chapter 19. But this felt a lot easier, although the subject matter, Jesus as He is presented, can be confronting....
"As we flip over to Revelation 19 we are going to be confronted by an image, a story of Jesus that may offend our sensibilities…it may confront your image of Jesus, of who you think He is….
Up till this point we have seen Jesus as Creator, we have seen Him reaching out in love and reconcilitiation with Adam and Eve.
We have seen Him at His baptism, proclaimed God as the Spirit comes down upon Him, as the Father declares Him his son….
We have heard about Stephens vision of Jesus in Heaven.
We know Jesus went to the cross and suffered an awful horrific death at the hands of the Roman soliders…truly horrific and violent death.
Yet through it all Jesus has been reaching out to human beings, coming as a servant, coming in love, coming with reconciliation in mind.

Here in revelation 19 we have what is essentially an 'awful' picture of Jesus. That’s the truth…awful in the correct sense of the word. Awe inspiring. Jesus is presented as coming as a judge to the world. There is a time when Jesus says enough! The brutality, the violence, the awfulness of this world, and what people do to each other….must stop."