“A Rejoicing Joy”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Philippians 4:4-7
December 16, 2018

“Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.”   Philippians 4:5ⁱ

Here’s my problem – I really don’t think the return of Jesus is imminent. I know. Goes against the purpose of Advent. We are supposed to open ourselves to the coming of Christ but that’s hard to do if you don’t think Jesus is about to appear. And I think I know what Paul believed, at least at the outset of his ministry. He believed the return of Christ was so imminent that he advised his fellow Christians not to marry.

What about you? Do you, in your heart of hearts, believe the Second Coming is, well, coming? Don’t answer that. I’ll do it for you. No, you don’t. Have insurance? You don’t really think Jesus is coming anytime soon.

So, it’s not just my problem. We share it together. Does it mean that we can’t get anything out of our reading from Philippians? No. It means that we start by being honest. No amount of wishful thinking is going to change what I believe. I believe because I have experienced what I profess. I believe the Sun is going to come up tomorrow. Sure, it’s possible it won’t. Some cosmic catastrophe might alter what I take to be inevitable, but I will shape and fashion my life around the belief that that ball of fire will work its way over the horizon. I believe it because I have experienced it. So let me suggest that instead of focusing this Advent solely on Christ’s return, we instead look at what we have experienced. When we do that, I believe we find an opening for affirming our text, “The Lord is near.” Continue reading Sermon Dec. 16, 2018 →

“People Get Ready”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Luke 3:1-6
December 9, 2018

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”    – Luke 3:1 & 2ⁱ

The story by Sholem Aleichem about Tevye and his five daughters became a block buster Broadway musical called, Fiddler on the Roof. It tells the story of a little town, Anatevka in the Russia of 1905,  As the musical comes to its climax, a pogrom has been unleashed by the Czar and Jews are forced to leave the town they had known all their lives. At one point, one of the men of the village asks the Rabbi a question: “Rabbi, we have waited all our lives for the Messiah to come. Wouldn’t this be a good time?” The Rabbi tells him, “We will have to wait for him somewhere else. Meanwhile, let’s start packing.”

This Advent we too must wait. We affirm that God is not done yet, that the Christ child waits to be born again and that we must prepare our hearts, minds and souls that we not miss this in-breaking of God. I’m right, right? Have I stated the purpose of Advent correctly? If so, Continue reading Sermon Dec 9, 2018 →

“Living in the Not Yet”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Mark 13:1-8
November 18, 2018

“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.” – Mark 13:7ⁱ

Do you know people who hoped for a better life and thought they were headed in the right direction only to discover they missed the mark? In Arthur Miller’s haunting play, Death of a Salesman, the 60 year-old Willie Loman is a tragic figure who has missed his mark. He is in the midst of a personal crisis. He is slowly losing his grip on reality. He daydreams while driving. He runs the car off the road. He hallucinates and talks to people who are not there. His two sons seem adrift and Willie’s wife is frightened of what the future might hold. Continue reading Sermon Nov. 18 →

“Cornered Into Goodness”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
1 Kings 17:8-24
November 11, 2018

Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.      – 1 Kings 17:13ⁱ

Have you ever been afraid? It is a crippling feeling that sucks joy from our lives and has us constantly prepared for the worst. It is, of course, woven into the human DNA. If you feared nothing, you would not be long in this world. Fear of being burned can keep you from being burned by a hot stove. But this is not the kind of fear I am talking about. I am talking about the fear some have of their spouse leaving them, of their children turning to drugs, of the person who goes to work fearful of the boss. That kind of fear can keep us from seeing through the darkness to the light of God’s promise. Continue reading Sermon Nov 11 2018 →

“Finding Our Inner Child”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Mark 9: 30-37
September 23, 2018

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”  – Mark 9:36 & 37ⁱ

What a strange passage of scripture – not because it doesn’t make sense but because of the whole bizarre scene. Continue reading Sermon, Sept. 23 →

“The Limits of Fear”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Psalm 34
August 19, 2018

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.  Psalm 34:7ⁱ

The title of this sermon is “the limits of fear.” It is the 34^th Psalm that drove me to this morning’s message. In its 22 verses, fear is mentioned five times – usually in reference to the wisdom of fearing God. So what does this mean for our spiritual lives? What truth can we take from this admonition to fear the Lord? Continue reading Sermon August 19, 2018 →

“Wilderness Wanderings”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Exodus 16:2-15
August 5, 2018

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  – Exodus 16:3ⁱ

Forty years. It’s a long time. For forty years the Israelites wandered in a wilderness. Babies born, people died, some fell into dementia, and hunger pecks at a people’s patients. Forty years. It is little wonder that they complained – and complain, they did. Continue reading Sermon August 5, 2018 →

“When Deception Occurs In High Places”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
2 Samuel 11: 1-15
July 29, 2018

Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.   – 2 Samuel 11:8ⁱ

If the Bible is our guide, we are in trouble. The prophetic witness is clear – a people who sin, whose leaders deceive, who trample on the rights of the poor, who have given themselves over to pleasure rather than faithfulness will reap the whirlwind of God’s judgment. But don’t take my word of it. Continue reading Sermon July 29, 2018 →