Since it always works out for characters in the Bible, let’s go to the well one more time. Our discussion of Buffy last week focused primarily on sin and the psyche. We talked about the interior struggle for identity and integrity that this bit of pop culture mythologizes so well. However, there is another side to the show that highlights …
The Gospel According to Buffy
I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have watched the entire series, including the Angel spin-off, about six times. I’m watching it again now. Part of that is comfort; I know the show and know that I will enjoy it, so it’s easy to put on when I just want to relax. However, when I want …
Vote for New Space and New Board
We would like to announce two votes that are currently open. You may vote by emailing board@churchinthecliff.org. See below for details on each vote. Vote #1: If you agree to empower the board to negotiate in good faith and sign a lease for the building at 1719 W. 10th Ave., vote, “Yes.” If not, vote, “No.” Vote #2: If you …
The Freedom to Be Formed
We have just passed Juneteenth and we are quickly approaching the Fourth of July, so freedom is on our minds. Perhaps it is always on our minds as freedom-loving Americans. And we are a Baptist church (it’s true!), so freedom is at the heart of who we are. However, Paul did not write in a time of freedom. Everyone lived …
What I Meant to Say Was… Hell Edition
I know I talked a lot on Sunday. I’m sorry. My hope is that we will continue to unpack a lot of it over the next few weeks. And, really, I’m clearly not that sorry because I’m about to say some more stuff I didn’t get to on Sunday. As many of you know, I love to talk about hell. …
Come, Ye Sinners
I lamented in church last Sunday that I miss the altar call. Certainly, it is damaging in a lot of ways. However, what I like about it is it puts a person to a decision. If Jesus is, in the words of theologian Schubert Ogden, the decisive re-presentation of God in that the words and works of Jesus put a …
Trinity Sunday Sermon
Some folks asked that I post my sermon from last Sunday. So, here it is. ~Scott Friday night, Lisa and I attended a modern dance performance by the Bruce Wood Dance Project. Sadly, it was an unexpected memorial for Mr. Wood, who died just a couple of weeks ago of pneumonia and heart failure, the ultimate end of a decades-long …
Go Ye Therefore
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, so that will be our subject. There is certainly a lot to be said about it. However, I want to take this space to touch on another subject that is raised by our lectionary texts. One of the only places in the Christian Testament that uses a clear Trinitarian formula (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) …
The Spirit is Moving
This Sunday is Pentecost, the birth of the Church. It is characterized as a magical, mysterious event where the Spirit of God comes upon the people with wind and fire. We often consider it unique, something that happened (or maybe didn’t) long ago. We commemorate it each year as a memory that is not our own. But my experience is …
Keep at it
I’ve been rewatching HBO’s The Wire lately. It’s a great show that humanizes the various kinds of systemic injustice we see around us so much that we no longer see it. Almost everyone is trapped in his or her particular role in “the game.” This, and his huge ego, inspires Tommy Carcetti to run for mayor of Baltimore. When he …