Step up, God!
Richard A. Kauffman
There are more laments in Psalms than any other kind of Psalm. These laments express many emotions, from grief and sorrow to anger and rage. They give us permission to cry out to God in times of distress or depression. Many of us have laments to share. In this sermon Richard shares a family story […]
Enough Is Enough
Richard A. Kauffman
Our lives are shaped to a large degree by our desires. Desire isn’t the problem necessarily. Desiring the wrong thing or too much of a good thing is. Our desires can only ultimately be fulfilled in God, the God of the church, the world, the earth. Which brings us to worship, to God, to praise […]
God’s Tenacious Solidarity
Richard A. Kauffman
Paul reminds us that the well-being of the earth and our well-being as humans living in this world are inextricably tied together. Both the world and we eagerly await our redemption at God’s final triumph. Meanwhile, God helps us in our weaknesses, and God even comes to the rescue when we don’t even know what […]
Family Likeness
Richard A. Kauffman
When my oldest granddaughter was four-years-old, she made a bold pronouncement: “I’m a strong, independent woman.” That drew some chuckles, recognizing where that came from: she picked it up from her feminist mother. Often, in observing the conduct of children, we’re inclined to say: Doesn’t she just remind you of her mother/father. Or, You can […]
Gospel of Peace
Richard A. Kauffman
We are willful human beings. Our wills bump up against each other. This can lead to conflict, alienation, enmity. Sometimes our offences against each other are small and we can just move on. Other times they are large and need to be attended to. Otherwise, relationships can break down—there is no longer a sense of […]
Cross Purposes
Richard A. Kauffman
Where were you on the morning of 9/11—that is, if you were born and are old enough to remember? I was pastoring the Toledo Mennonite Church at the time. That morning I was in a pastors’ meeting at a restaurant on the edge of Pettisville, OH. One of the owners interrupted our meeting to tell […]
Best Practices
Richard A. Kauffman
Why do we go to church? Why did you come here this morning? You could have stayed at home to read a Sunday paper and have an extra cup of coffee, or ride bike on the Pumpkinvine. Instead, you came here. Why? I recently met with an old friend. Since we hadn’t been together in […]
From Exceptionalism to Inclusion or Will the Real Prodigal Please Stand Up?
Richard A. Kauffman
When I was 15 I started to rebel against my parents. I thought they were too strict, so I pushed against their boundaries. One hot, July night I went out with some friends. They didn’t want me to go, but I did anyway. We didn’t do anything really bad. We were just boys being boys, […]
From Privilege to Cruciformity
Richard A. Kauffman
Many of you here know of Michael “MJ” Sharp, I assume. He spent part of his growing up years in Goshen and went to Bethany Christian High School, where he had a bit of a reputation as a trouble-maker. But he was very smart and had an expansive vision of what he wanted to do […]
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