I’ve read a lot of articles and heard a lot of reports in the past few weeks about the holiday blues. This time of year is a tough time for many. In that light, I want to point us this morning to a blues song.Read More »A Christmas Family Tree: Comprehensive Kin (Lk. 3:23-38)
I’d like to start with two questions. First, how many of you have a “black sheep” in the family, a misfit in the family, a crazy uncle or a wild brother or a weird sister or an unusual grandparent? Second, how many of you talked about that black sheep recently at a meal? In the New York Times Margo Kaufman writes about holiday family meals: “When families gather around the holiday table for the traditional feast, there is traditionally one person who is conspicuous by either absence or presence. Male or female, rich or poor, married or single, young or old, teetotaler or alcoholic – this person is often the object of ridicule, pity, envy, awe, fear, scorn, embarrassment or secret admiration, for as the proverb goes: ‘There is a black sheep in every fold.‘”[1] Thanksgiving and Christmas may be times when we are especially reminded of our family’s “black sheep.” Most of us have one or two and when we get together for holiday meals our conversation inevitably turns to them.Read More »A Christmas Family Tree: Reprehensible Relatives (Matt. 1:1-17) Chris Altrock – December 18, 2011
The popular sci-fi movie “Star Wars” featured a planet called Tatooine on which Luke Skywalker lived. This planet orbited around two suns. And earlier this year astronomers discovered a real Tatooine. They located a real planet orbiting around two suns. This video shows a planet named Kepler 16b crusing around a smaller red sun and a larger orange sun. The planet takes 229 days to make the circuit. Scientists were thrilled to find this—a two-sun solar system.Read More »A Christmas Family Tree: A Perfect Pedigree (Matt. 1:1-17) Chris Altrock – December 11, 2011
Occupy Wall Street is a series of demonstrations in New York City and elsewhere.[1] The participants are protesting social and economic inequalities which they believe are the result of corporate greed. Their slogan is “We are the 99%.” It refers to the claim that the top 1% in America controls about 40% of the wealth. The rest of the wealth is distributed among the 99%. Protestors claim that while unemployment is at one of its highest levels since the Depression, corporate profits are also at one of their highest levels. Protestors believe that Corporate America, the 1%, is mishandling money and thus harming the 99%–the rest of America.Read More »Loaded: Getting Rich by Giving Away Your Wealth (1 Tim. 6:11-21) Chris Altrock – December 4, 2011