Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St., Honolulu, HI 96822; ELCA; 808-941-2566

LCH E-News—An occasional electronic newsletter for the LCH congregation

LCH E-News—July 15, 2010

From Pastor Jeff

God Beyond Google
or God is not a Yahoo!

Pastor Jeff Lilley Preaching is a fairly precarious practice, like walking a tight rope. In seminary I had a semester-long preaching course taught by a wonderful older Seminex professor who coached us on the proper use of exegetical materials, intonation, outlining, and form for classical preaching. Dr. Hoyer cautioned a balance of biblical teaching and proclamation in our sermons. He said something like: “On the one hand, some folks delight in learning something new; on the other, some seek reassurance, but at the core is law and gospel.”

The balancing act has gotten even more difficult as both pastors and parishoners turn ever more to the internet for sermons and sermon helps. This can be a great help or a terrible tragedy. More than ever, there are wonderful discussions and resources available to preachers on the internet. Exegetical discussions, sermon groups, and illustration sites can be a valuable adjunct to sermon preparation. But some pastors go too far. Increasingly pastors delivering canned sermons fresh from their favorite internet sermon sweat shop are getting busted by parishoners who happen across remarkably similar sermons on the net. At the same time, folks in the pew have access to a wonderful world of theological information including theological libraries, commentaries, and sermons on iTunes and other online sites. All that information is good, but as Dr. Hoyer cautioned, balance is important.

In an age where there is an app for everything and Google intrudes into every factoid, the human practice of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ face to face may seem a bit anachronistic. While I support and practice internet ministry, it should not, perhaps, dominate our proclamation landscape. The “I love you” of God is best delivered face to face, hand to hand, over bread and wine, and in the company of strangers and friends.

The precariousness of preaching lessens when accompanied by even one slow nod, encouraging smile, or even a scowl of disapproval.

In the end, we will fully experience God though Google, but in the heartfelt exchange of grace found when people, children, adults, babies, elders, men and women, are wrapped in each other—and in the promise and presence of God.

Mahalo!

Many thanks to all of you brought food for the Pau Hana Food Drive benefiting Hawaii Foodbank. This picture was taken early in the evening. By the end of the event, we were able to pretty much fill Carl’s office with food (sorry Carl). Many thanks to the Lilley family for setting up the event, and to Naomi Castro, Seth Lilley, and Pastor Jeff for providing live entertainment.

Christ is Alive!

Friday Downtown Lunch Bunch

dim sum graphic Mark your calendars to join your LCH friends at Mei Sum Dim Sum Restaurant in downtown Honolulu, July 23rd at noon. This is one of our favorite places! Everyone is welcome to join us for great food and fellowship. There is very convenient parking at a reasonable price (about $1.50) at the Chinatown Municipal Lot on Beretania near Smith. More information and map.

Wouldn’t this be more interesting if You were writing it?

Do you have news or items of interest for the HeartBeat Newsletter or E-News? We are always in need of interesting articles, news items, and photos for the HeartBeat and E-News. If you are interested in contributing to or working on these important communications from LCH, please contact Pr. Jeff at <pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org>.

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Do you have news you would like included in the LCH E-News? Please send your text to pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org by Wednesday morning along with the dates and duration of publication. Mahalo!