Montecito Covenant

What's With the Weeds?

2008-07-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

Pentecost: II Corinthians 4:16-5:10

2008-05-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

The real beauty is the flower, not the pot. The pot contains the treasure like we contain the Holy Spirit. That's why we do not lose heart!

Would you buy stuff from them?

2008-05-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is the group rummaging (no pun intended) around the gym getting ready for the garage sale this coming Saturday. While their enthusiasm was contagious, their clothing choice left something to be desired!!

Confirmation & Ascension: II Cor 6:1-13

2008-05-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday celebrates the confirmation of 2 of our young people and an afternoon baptism at the beach. No themes other than the sanctity of vows and the centrality of Word and Sacrament.

Adiaphora: I Corinthians 8:1-13

2008-04-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Some stuff in the Christian life is just plain confusing. Is it proper to eat meat offered to idols? How about a value dinner at a Casino? What stuff matters and what stuff doesn't? It's a tangled mess that Paul sorts through in the text above. The key: add the filter of love to all our fine wisdom.

Acts 7:54-60

2008-04-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

The stoning of Stephen is a brutal chapter in the history of the church. Quickly finding meaning out of violence dishonors and devalues the grief and loss of those affected. Quick predestinarianism is insensitive to those who grieve. Stephen's brutal stoning is something that is not romantic or tender. It is mob violence of the ugly sort we have seen in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Darfur and recently Kenya (not to mention Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan).
Growth in the church created problems. Stephen was a solution to the problem. Stephen's death was an unanticipated consequence of that solution. The value of his death can only be measured in the life of those who followed: most signifcantly Paul.

Generosity?

2008-04-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

II Corinthians 8:1-5 tells the story of the table: overflowing generosity from those who give themselves first to the Lord.

Sacraments: Gift or Burden?

2008-04-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28:18-20 and I Corinthians11:23-26 establish that both baptism and communion are to be practiced by us, the church. The question is: do we get it in the way Jesus intended it? What do we do with the burden of divergent historical customs and practices?

The Greeting!

2008-03-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28:1-10 is the text for the day, focussing on the greeting that changed the lives of not only the two Mary's but also the entire universe. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Palm Sunday: The Entrance

2008-03-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Matthew 21:1-17 tells the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem. Entrances are very important. What have been the big "entries" in your life for both good and ill? How have you entered something well or poorly. How about leaving? When has a leaving been great and when has it been a disaster? What do you make of Jesus' method of entering Jerusalem?

John 11:1-45....Lazarus

2008-03-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

What looks deader than a bunch of ratty old bulbs? All gardeners know the miracle of planting and waiting, and watching those ugly bulbs transform into new life. Nothing was uglier than Lazarus' wrapped, dead, and sealed body, buried in a cave. Then Jesus' voice turned the "bulb" into a "flower." Speak into our lives Lord Jesus.

John 9:1-41

2008-03-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

You want to put that where?

Woman at the Well

2008-02-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 24 will focus in on the familiar story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well in John 4:1-42. Thirsty?

What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?

2008-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 13th has for its text Acts 17:16-34 where Paul addresses the citizens and thinkers of Athens on the Areopagus. It is the text where East meets West. The pillar represents the architecture of Greece with books placed on top that are actually Greek classics from my library. Under the books is a Jewish prayer shawl that was purchased in Israel last fall when MCC made its Israel journey. But next to them both is the strong and tall Christ-candle of hope, transcending both the traditions of Israel and the accomplishments of Greece. He is our hope!

Epiphany Sunday 2008

2008-01-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

The first Sunday of 2008 is Epiphany Day, January 6, 12 days after Christmas. The color is white and the theme is light. The plant stand under the cross is filled with energetic branches almost trying to jump out of the base along with papyrus stalks from Martha's garden, with their radiating heads. At the base of the vase is a cluster of olive leaves, pleading for peace in a war-torn world. Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Christmas in the Field 2007

2007-12-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

Kim Crawford moved Christ-in-the-field out "to the field", the only field at MCC, the Oak Grove between the sanctuary and parsonage. Parents huddled and took pictures and kids dressed up told the old story again with beautiful freshness.

Blessed in Diversity: Ephesians 1: 2-23

2007-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday November 11th will be a day focussed on the good stuff; the blessings we have in Christ. The altar-piece reflects the wide-ranging diversity of the believing community in Ephesus. Gentile believers squeezed between the traditions of Israel and the power of the Roman Empire in all its might. We have been chosen, forgiven, empowered because of what God has done for us in Jesus.

All Saints' Sunday

2007-11-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

All Saints' Sunday brings to mind those who have goen before us and, in the words of Hebrews 12:1 surround us as a cloud of witnesses. The altar-piece has the Christ-stone central, draped in the gold of victory and surrounded by a screen of candles and many on the table. During the opening of worship, others will be invited to bring their candles of memory and place them also on the altar.

The Jerusalem Council: Who let YOU in here?

2007-10-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Oct 28 worship focusses on Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council, where Paul and Barnabas and Peter defend extending the Gospel to Gentiles. The altar-piece has a newly purchased prayer shawl from Jerusalem. These prayer shawls are important because they are made with 613 threads for the 613 laws Jews commit to obeying (mitzvot). In the vase are branches bearing pomegranate fruits, that are symbolic for Jews of the Law (yes, having 613 seeds in them). But also in the vase are unripened oranges, for new fruits, new believers, the Gentiles who are welcomed in to the Christian community.

Freedom from Slavery to Servanthood

2007-10-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

In Galatians 5:1 the Apostle Paul calls Christians to live into their freedom away from their slavery by choosing NOT to go backwards to where we used to be, but forward into a life of serving one another in love. The altar tells a graphic story of chains broken by the cornerstone of Christ and a footwashing bowl and towel at the base of the Christ-candle.

No Way! Ain't Going There!

2007-09-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Food and Music. Everyone has a strong opinion about foods they like and foods they hate. And it does not follow a clear logic-line. The same is true about music, especially in the church. People really, really like choral music with organ accompaniment or really, really hate it. People really, really like music sung from memory with a heavy percussive beat or they just can't stand it and will walk out of worship. But most folks will agree that these are personal opinions and preferences and not matters of fact and certitude.
When it came to Peter and food, however, it was a matter of salvation, history, tradition and Scripture. Leviticus 11 clearly described the foods Jews should never, ever, ever, never eat. It was God's commandment and law. Eat those foods and you are dirty, unclean and OUT! The foods Peter ate were part of his personal, family and community identity.
And God gave him a dream of foods he had never even considered eating....and God told him to get up, kill and eat. No Way! Nothing Doing! Not Going There! Then God said "What I have cleansed you will not make unclean!" Any questions? 3 times God gave Peter that dream and set of commandments before he got it.
So, are we called to eat new foods? Maybe. But the deeper point is we are called to welcome in new people, people we never ever considered reaching out to. Who might those ones be who God is bringing to your front door?

You're Letting In Him?

2007-09-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Acts 8:4-40 tells a story about who's in and who's out of the church. And it's quite a surprise. The locally known and respected wealthy guy makes one small mistake and boom...he's out! I mean Simon Magus is every pastor's dream new member. He could underwrite all sorts of ministries. Yet Peter blasts him for trying to buy the things of God. Then Philip goes out onto a desert road and baptizes an Ethiopian dignitary who is also a eunuch. That's more information than anyone really wants to know. This guy is a complicated person. He does not fit nice categories and will create all sorts of stir. Yet he is quickly welcomed in with baptism.

Persecution's 1st WAve: Stephen

2007-09-07T16:45:00.001-07:00

After so many miraculous interventions and escapes, the first martyr was Stephen, an appointed deacon and powerful witness. The harsh and jagged stones lay at the base of the keystone, fanning the flames of the early church. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."

Jerusalem: the begining of the Church

2007-09-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 2 celebrates the birth of the church, looking at Acts 2:1-5:16. Those passages cover the 1-2 year period just after Ascension and Pentecost. The three images on the table speak of origins (the root of Jesse) the person of Jesus (the key-stone) and the flowering creativity of the church (the flowers).

Westmont College Ministry Fair

2007-08-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Students are back at Westmont College and that means Fall has begun! Yesterday churches from around the area set up tables outside the dining room to present their ministries to incoming and returning students. MCC staff was out in force, giving away creative chap-stick tubes with our web site and worship hours, plus brownies and brochures.