Becoming a Brother to the Other
There's a section of Acts chapter 8 that contains one of the most interesting - and strangest - stories in the New Testament. It's Phillip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, someone who would indeed [...]
Easter Sermon
Easter Sermon, April 1, 2018, by Jeffrey Vamos Is it possible to prove the resurrection? N. T. Wright, the theologian and biblical scholar, wrote a 700-plus page book attempting to do that. The heart [...]
April Fools
Sermon March 25, 2018, by Jeffrey Vamos What if we understood that Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem was really a parody of those in power? Is it possible we might understand parody and humor as [...]
Good Grief
Sermon March 18, 2018 Jeffrey Vamos Is grief...good? And if so, how? How might we think of grief in light of the hope of the gospels? Dr. Vamos explores the story of the death [...]
Hey brother, can you spare a job?
Pastor’s Letter – April 2018 Dear Members and Friends of PCOL: The theologian Emil Brunner once wrote that the church exists by mission as fire exists by burning. We, the church, exist for [...]
Jesus vs. The Übermensch
Sermon March 11, 2018 Jeffrey Vamos How many of us have read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged, and been inspired to throw off all mediocrity, seek to embody the greatness that is ours if [...]
Does Dylann Roof Deserve Forgiveness?
Like many, I was struck - and deeply moved - by the anguished statements of both hurt and forgiveness expressed by family members of those killed by Dylann Roof. I wonder if any of [...]
Where have you found living water?
by Louise Johnson / March 26, 2014 I was moved by our worship service last Sunday. It featured a biblical character who was anything but holy. She is the infamous “Woman at the Well,” [...]
What Are You Waiting For?
by Matt Pigman / March 18, 2014 Many of us have been waiting for what seems like an unbearably long time for spring to come. After one of the snowiest and longest NJ winters on [...]
Devil Sunday got me thinking…
by Erin Counihan / March 12, 2014 We church folk like to name our Sundays. Easter Sunday Palm Sunday Transfiguration Sunday Epiphany Sunday Baptism of the Lord Sunday Pentecost Sunday and on and on. [...]
Need a Spiritual Discipline for Lent? Psalms and Dante…
As I mentioned in my sermon of yesterday, at both the 10am and 12:30 Worship in a New Key services, I want to encourage the congregation in its reading of a too often neglected book [...]
Amendment 10A and…Hell
Last Sunday was installment two in our new sermon series, "Questions from the Floor." The topic: "How will Amendment 10A affect the Presbyterian Church (USA) going forward?" My approach was simply to describe some of [...]
Questions from the Floor – Part I: Family Values? Whose?
This Sunday, we began a new sermon series called Questions from the Floor. This series is the brainchild of my colleague Louise, who compiled a list of questions that came from...you! Each of the [...]
Sexuality: How Do We Have the Talk?
First: please insert here my much-to-self-referential brooding about...sin and forgiveness...the weakness of the flesh...writer's block...the insane schedule of a parish Pastor. Having intended to keep up with my blogging discipline, I see I have failed [...]
I Can’t Get No…Satisfaction
Is it possible that Mick Jagger has really nailed it, in describing the prime spiritual malady of our times? Well - maybe for all times? This Sunday's sermon (sermons - plural - as I'll [...]
What is Postmodernism?
Back on the blog horse, and dipping my toe in. (Aha! Master of the Mixed Metaphor! To dip my horse hoof in? My blog's equine lower digit...?) This year, as I return to my blogging [...]
Four Ways to Have a Conversation – Post Mortem
First - a brief word about my personal M.O. I am an ENFP according to the Myers-Briggs type indicator. When I took this test - er, I mean "inventory" (they make a big deal about [...]
Paul vs. The Fundamentalists
Feeling rather guilty for not writing here for the last several weeks - and then (in Pauline fashion!) I realize that I do well not to make more of myself than I ought. Might I [...]