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Brad's Blog |
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| Author: | Brad Miller | Created: | 10/30/2007 2:51 AM |  | | From the Desk of Brad Miller |
| Be Prepared | |
| By Brad Miller on1/29/2009 10:47 AM | |
| Greetings on this nicely overcast day!
The last few weeks in worship my sermons have concentrated on the kinds of things we need to do to start anew, to rededicate ourselves to God’s plan. Being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, committing ourselves to doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with our God, and in preparation for all of it, repenting and giving ourselves over to God’s will. That last one is sometimes the hardest as we find it difficult to give up our will when it comes to following where God leads. Like Jonah, who was scandalized that God had actually redeemed those nasty Ninevites, we sometimes let our own preconceived notions or our own sense of justice and right get in the way of what God would have us do.
But there is no doubt that getting out of God’s way simply trying to follow where God leads, or that getting out of our own way by concentrating on what we do rather than worrying what others are up to, will lead us to the ... |  | |
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| | Sunday January 25, 2009 "Proclaiming the Fast" Jonah 3:1-5, 10 and Psalm 62:5-12 | |
Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/28/2009 2:43 PM | |
| Most of us know at least some part of the book of Jonah. Jonah is unique among the prophets because he is never called a prophet, not once in the entire book. His prophecies of destruction did not come true, but they did hit their mark. But no matter how we categorize Jonah and his mission, the lessons that come from the book of Jonah are powerful and long lasting.
It is a strange book in many ways. It is filled with exaggerated images, absurd responses and righteous indignation. There is a fair amount of humor in the book, too, which if we are not careful can lead us away from the main points.
To recap, Jonah was a man who, out of the blue was instructed to go to Nineveh and warn them to turn around. But it was more than just a simple warning. God gave Jonah specific instructions on what to tell the people of Nineveh. They were to be told that because of their evil ways, they were to be destroyed. But Jonah, not wanting to take on that task, undertook ... | | |
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| | Sunday January 18, 2009 "Doing Justice" Micah 6:6-8 | |
Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/26/2009 2:18 PM | |
| “What do you want from me?”
This question has been asked so many times in so many situations: children ask it of parents, parents ask it of children, partners and spouses ask it of each other, workers ask it of bosses, friends ask it of friends.
Sometimes the question is fraught with exasperation. Sometimes it is a loving offer of help. Sometimes it seeks simple clarification.
But it is definitely a question we have heard, a question we have asked.
God has heard the question, too. The question has been asked of God in silent, fervent prayers. It has been asked in huge assemblies. It has been asked out of loyalty and devotion. It has been asked out of frustration. And more than once it has been asked in the hope that we need do nothing more to sastisfy God – we have it just right. But more often than not, we ask it, hoping that the answer will be something easy, knowing full well that the answer, while simple, will never b ... | | |
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| | Sunday January 11, 2009 "New Beginnings" Mark 1:4-11 and ACts 19:1-7 | |
Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on1/26/2009 1:58 PM | |
| The church year can be a little strange.
While most of our society marks January 1st as the beginning of the new year, we Christians have a couple of other alternatives. Lots of us look to the beginning of the school year as the “new year” for the church. When everyone is back in town, that’s when we really gear up our programs, and so it feels like a new beginning.
That is not the only “new beginning” we as church folks experience. The liturgical calendar sets the beginning of Advent as the beginning of the new church calendar. So, sometime soon after Thanksgiving each year we enter a time of reflection, study and introspection in preparation to celebrate the anniversary of the coming of the Messiah, and what it means to our lives that Jesus told us that he would come again.
So, we use that time to prepare ourselves, to work to make changes in our lives, in our spiritual practices and in our outlook. The new year celebration of Advent ends with th ... | | |
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| | The Mountaintop Experience | |
Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/26/2009 1:52 PM | |
| Yesterday was quite a day. Starting with the huge throngs of people who attended the inauguration of President Obama you just knew it was going to be a special day. So many people never thought they would see a day like yesterday, and when the reality of the moment sunk in, I understood why there was a tear in so many peoples eyes. This was a mountaintop experience of the first order, and I can only imagine what it felt like to the new President and his family.
But as the dignitaries were filing off the main stage, one of the announcers on the station I was watching said something to the effect of, “Well, he better enjoy it now because come tomorrow, it’s business as usual and he will have to deal with the opposition he surely faces.”
“How sad,” I thought. I know that there was certainly a grain of truth in what the commentator said, but still, who wants to be hit with such a downer on such an up day? Who wants to be reminded that they live in the valley and t ... | | |
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| | Attitude Adjustment | |
Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/14/2009 2:58 PM | |
| Greetings on this cold-but-it’s-gonna-get-colder day,
Today was one of those days when I couldn’t ignore God’s presence if I tried to. First, I woke up groggy after a less than perfect night’s sleep. As I was getting ready, I was suddenly hit with an epiphany that said to me, “You can either give in to starting this day off badly, or you can decide to make it a good day.” I looked in the mirror and decided it would be a good day. Came into the office having to deal with some administrative issues that need to be tied up and with one fell swoop, someone stepped forward and basically said, “the issue is resolved.” Alright…this day might be good after all. Got an e-mail from a friend who is battling some health issues but ended by saying, “But I am doing great…I have great faith that things will be settled soon.” His attitude will take him far. And then, I looked at my morning devotional where the following was written, “Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of ... | | |
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| | A New Year Start | |
Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on1/7/2009 3:54 PM | |
| Greetings on this blustery day,
The chance to take a break after Christmas and just relax was just too good to pass up. Carol and I were able to get away to Charleston, S.C. to visit my cousins, and even though the big game didn’t turn out the way my cousin Jeananne and I would have liked (she also graduated from Michigan State) we had a nice relaxing time. And while it was good to get away and recharge, I am always excited about starting a new year at the church. There’s just something so hopeful about saying, “Okay, the old year is over and we can leave all the disappointments and missteps behind and start anew.” Even if we really can’t, it’s a nice thought anyway.
One way we start again at the beginning of the year is by welcoming all the new leadership of the church on board, and saying thank you to all those who are stepping away form leadership for now. In my time at BCC, I have been blessed with faithful and committed leadership who, to a person, have ... | | |
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| | Sunday December 21, 2008 "The Light Breaks Through" Isaiah 9:2-7 | |
Brad's Sermons | By Brad Miller on12/22/2008 2:13 PM | |
| The night was as dark as one I had ever experienced. Oh, not some “spiritual dark night of the soul”…I mean it was DARK outside. I would guess I was 8 or 9 years old at the camp my parents ran in northern Michigan. It was generally darker up there than in our home in Detroit. There was no ambient glow of the city lights to brighten things up, and generally, that was a good thing. Because without that city glow, the skies were filled with thousands upon thousands of stars and may nights were spent looking for the big and little dipper and other constellations we knew.
But this night, it was overcast and the lights of the stars were hidden by the clouds. When I tell you it was dark, I mean it was dark.
And this was the night my flashlight decided not to work.
The camp my parents ran had two parts. First, there was what called “the hotel.” It was a hunting and fishing lodge that my grandfather and my great uncle had built in the 1920’s, ... | | |
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| | Stop! | |
Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on12/18/2008 9:33 AM | |
| Greetings on this lovely Spring day!
For some reason, no matter how hard I try to plan things out during Advent and Christmas, they never quite work out the way I plan. Oh, nothing major, but when I work hard to make sure that I can take some time to relax and enjoy this season, I still reach a point where it seems like all I want to do is get through it. I assure you, THAT is not the way to celebrate Advent and Christmas. Unfortunately, it has become the modus operandi for how we live our lives too much of the time. We get so scheduled that we forget that we the schedule is supposed to serve us, not the other way around. So, what are we to do about it? The short answer: STOP.
Oh, I can hear some of you: “That’s easy for you to say!” Well, no, it is not easy for me to say. In fact, it is terribly difficult for me to say. I love all the activities of Advent. I love the ramping up to the wonderful celebration of Christmas Eve. I love getting together wi ... | | |
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| | A Sacred Mess | |
Mid-Week Missive | By Brad Miller on12/15/2008 1:47 PM | |
| Greetings!
How does the song go? “Oh, the weather outside is frightful…” Well, that about describes today. Grey, rainy, at times downright frightening with thunder and incredible bursts of drenching downpours. A good day to be inside. But as I sit in my office, I am in the midst of another frightful sight: what a mess! If anyone were to come in and visit for the first time, they would think I am the worst kind of pack rat. But a closer look at what fills up my office at this time of year makes me feel about as good as I have in a long, long time.
Piled in one corner of my office, and spilling out into the main area are bag upon bag of Christmas presents destined for excited boy and girls who, but for your great generosity, would be facing a bleak Christmas. The wish lists of 50 children graced our narthex tree 10 days ago, now there is but a handful. Presents have already started coming in and my office has become the storage area. For those who took ... | | |
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