Sermons (Page 152)
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Weather. It is a pretty harmless topic of conversation. It’s something we all have experienced. When talking about it you can compare differences or similarities geographically, say weather at the lake verses Wick Park or larger differences like those across the country or globe. Weather is something that has a great impact on our daily life. It helps keep us alive and it also has the power to kill us. Weather is important…
Fourth Sunday of Easter
In the reading from the Gospel of John we hear about flocks of sheep, and namely about the flock of sheep who can call Jesus their shepherd. I always get a chuckle out of farming or agriculture metaphors, of which there are countless in the Bible and in the teachings of Jesus. After all look around. We are about as far away from a shepherd and sheep as we can get. Not only is there city all around us but to the east of us there is a huge body of water. No sheep there, and to the west of us, the place where I drove from this morning, the western suburbs green lawns, trust me, no sheep their either…
Third Sunday of Easter
The leading cause of death in the United States in 2013 was heart disease. What’s interesting about heart disease is that many forms can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices. Sure, surgeons can re-do the plumbing of the heart, that’s easy. The harder part is getting patients to comply with lifestyle changes to quit smoking or eat differently. One statistic suggests that compliance rates are as low as 20% post-surgery. Why? Well, part of it is the difference between two types of change – technical change and adaptive change. Technical changes are easy solutions that often have apparent solutions, like a needed routine surgery. While adaptive change requires an alteration in beliefs, roles, relationships, or approaches, like a diet overhaul. In short, with technical change you do something different, and with adaptive change you think different…