Category: Posts

Devotion 5 – Lent 2015

What are you giving up for Lent? How is that going? We talked about this one day over lunch this week. One of the people present said he was giving up desserts for Lent. After lunch, dessert was offered. Cheesecake. One of his favorites. He said with a smile, “If I hadn’t told you I was giving up desserts for Lent, I could have some.”

We may have the best of intentions but how do we really live in to the commitments that we identify as being important to us? One of the ways we do that is by declaring our intentions: Sharing what we want to do and be with others. That sharing commits us. We can’t just change our mind, or back out, or ignore what we have openly shared with others. If you tell your friends that you are going to stop drinking and then you are out at a bar that nudge to stick to your word may help you to maintain your intention. When people get married, they say “I do” for life in front of witnesses. It is binding. Having said it in front of others helps us to keep our word.

By telling someone about a commitment you are helping yourself to fulfill that commitment and you are building in support for yourself as you seek to adhere to your intentions.

We need one another to help us fulfill our commitments and intentions. To help us live into our highest good. To be our better selves. Alone, it is too easy to give in to the temptation to cheat, to rationalize, and to make excuses.

So what are you giving up this Lent? Who have you told?

Lectionary readings for the day:

Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15

Prayer: May we have the courage to declare our commitments and intentions thus helping to ensure our faithfulness. Amen.

2/1/15 Sermon Podcast — “Decisions, Decisions”

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The recording begins with Liturgist, Jean Johnson, reading 1 Corinthians 8: 1- 13, followed by Rev. Well’s sermon.

To listen, right-click HERE and select the save link option and play the downloaded file with your computer’s media player. If you have a one-button mouse (on a Mac), press and hold the “Control” key and click the link and select the save link option.

 
 
 

2/8/15 Sermon Podcast

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The recording begins with Liturgist, JoAnne Reid, reading 2 Kings 5:1-19, followed by Rev. Well’s sermon.

To listen, right-click HERE and select the save link option and play the downloaded file with your computer’s media player. If you have a one-button mouse (on a Mac), press and hold the “Control” key and click the link and select the save link option.

 
 
 

2/15/15 Sermon Podcast — Rev. Harry Knox

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The recording begins with Rev. Wells, reading Micah 6:6-8, followed by guest preacher, Rev. Harry Knox’s sermon, “It’s Time to Talk: About Sexuality Education, Contraception, and Abortion”

THIS MORNING: Gratitude is expressed to Rev. Harry Knox, the guest preacher this morning. Harry is a former member of LUCC and is currently serving as the President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice located in Washington, D.C. Harry is in St. Petersburg for other work related functions and generously offered to preach at Lakewood. Welcome back, Harry!
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To listen, right-click HERE and select the save link option and play the downloaded file with your computer’s media player. If you have a one-button mouse (on a Mac), press and hold the “Control” key and click the link and select the save link option.

 
 
 

Devotion 4 – Lent 2015

As Lent begins, the country is blanketed in cold. Record low temperatures and snowfalls top the news. Well, even here in Florida it has been cold, relatively speaking. At the outdoor Ash Wednesday service people came bundled up in coats, hoods, scarfs, hats, gloves, and blankets. In the dark with all of the cold weather gear, it was hard to tell who everyone was. Even people we knew well were hard to identify submerged beneath a hat and hood and muffler.

This image reminds us of what can happen to us as we make our way through life. We bundle up. We cover ourselves in ways that shield who we really are. We protect ourselves with images and facades. We become layered with the images others have of us. Our true self gets hidden not only from others but sometimes from ourselves.

Lent is a time to notice those layers and covers and shells. It is a time to cast off what no longer fits or is needed. It is a time to come clean. To unburden. To shed. It is a season to pare back, dig down, and rediscover who we really are finding that divine image that may be buried under the layers of our lives.

Lectionary Readings for the day:

Psalm 25:1-10
Psalm 32
Matthew 9:2-13

Prayer: May we rediscover who we really are this Lenten season. Amen.