“Are You Able?”
Rev. Jeff Long-Middletoton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Mark 10:35-45
October 21, 2018
They replied, “We are able.” – Mark 10:39ai
This is a simple sermon. It has three points. First, know what you are about. Second, learn to live with your limits. Third, God surrenders nothing. Continue reading Sermon Oct 21 2018
“What’s Wrong With Apples?” or “The Nature of Sin”
Rev. Jeff Long-Middletoton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Genesis 2:15 – 3:21
October 7, 2018
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4 & 5i
So they ate it. We know why. Verse five gives us the reason. “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Doesn’t sound all that bad – I mean the part about knowing good and evil. That’s what we try to teach our children. Some would say that all of life is trying to follow the good and avoid the evil and you can’t do that it you cannot distinguish one from the other. Right? So what’s the problem? Continue reading Sermon Oct 7 2018
“How to Lift the Load of the Christian Faith”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Numbers 11: 4-29
September 30, 2018
Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ – Numbers 11:13i
Man, does that sound familiar – literally. I may have told some of you that I was the co-founder of Metropolitan Camden Habitat for Humanity. At the time I was the pastor of an affluent suburban church and Camden, New Jersey resembled Dresden after the Allied bombing of World War II. There were whole streets with nothing more than abandoned tenements. Continue reading Sermon Sept. 30, 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
“God Is Always With Us”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Psalm 116: 1-9
September 16, 2018
“For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.” – Psalm 116:8i
The truth the Psalmist is affirming is one that all of us need to hear. What prevents me from hearing it is my skepticism and the unfamiliar nature of the psalmist’s language. He makes claims that are so sweeping they do not match my lived experience. In my ministry I have seen folks suffer through events no one should ever confront – the death of an 18-month-old child. I stood in the hospital room with the family. The grandmother rocked the dead child in her arms. An hour passed. The social worker told them they should consider giving the child’s body back to the healthcare team because he will start turning blue. Up till now, it only looked like the child was sleeping.
For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. God did not deliver this child from death. Tears flowed from all the eyes in that room. And, yes, we all stumbled into tomorrow. Where is this God the psalmist speaks of?
How I wish I could stand before you and with a clear conscious and unwavering confidence tell you that these first nine verses of this psalm are as they present themselves. The truth, however, is more complicated. Continue reading Sermon, Sept. 16
Sep 17 – Nov 5
Part II
The Bible & Its Interpretation
every Monday 7-8 pm
Pastor Jeff Long-Middleton will be leading the study that was developed from notes derived from a class offered by the Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes. This is the second of a two-part survey course in which participants are exposed to a broad overview of how the Bible has shaped and been shaped by our shared culture. we will begin our second installment with the American experience from 1820-1870 and how some saw the rise of Biblical criticism as a threat to faith’s vitality.
This is not a traditional “Bible Study.” Rather we will continue our exploration of how the Bible has been viewed from 1820 to the present. It is not so much a “Bible Study” as it is a “Study of the Bible.” You don’t need to have in-depth knowledge of the Bible to enjoy this study. But an inquiring mind helps!
Open to anyone who is curious about the Bible’s formation, historical significance and its impact for today. Bring only your open mind!
“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 34th 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