A Thin Place

We seem to rush through the holidays, even though we begin to be inundated with ads encouraging us to start shopping before Halloween even arrives.  For the next 4 weeks, A Thin Place will journey through the season of Advent anticipating the arrival of The Christ.  

Faith and culture and how they relate to each other have always been a struggle. Larry Taylor provides some very thought-provoking insight on this dilemma in this edition of the podcast.

Where is God in these challenging days? Where is humanity? This sermon left me with a lot of hope.  

From an ancient story about kings and kingdoms and transitions, we get to hear very clearly the story we are all living at this very moment.  I timely word for all of us in these days.

When Paul writes in his letter to those Jesus followers at Galatia, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus," he had written a revolutionary and liberating sentence.  How did Paul arrive at the place that allowed him to write that?  

Where is your God? That is a question that might arouse one's defenses in the social climate of our day.  But, what if we ask it of ourselves in contemplation?  When I consider "God", where IS my God? There is much to think about in this week's edition of A Thin Place with Dr. Larry Taylor.

Larry Taylor opens this sermon by noting how the Hebrew prophets often have what seems to be conflicting accounts of God.  One says, "surely, God is hidden."  Another says, "seek God and you'll find God".  In these confusing days, God can seem elusive at best.  This sermon moved me in a profound way and I'm excited to share it here.  

Dr. Larry Taylor explores the community that bloomed as a result of people with needs and people with gifts finding each other.  "Community is born when someone's need becomes everyone's concern."  That seems to me to be something we might all aspire to right now.  

This sermon is our podcast's namesake.  The Thin Place is based on the story of the woman at the well in the Gospel of John, chapter 4.  It's a favorite of mine and a great place for us to begin.

The Celts spoke of "thin places" — places where the veil between our world and God was very thin.  This is a podcast presenting the deeply spiritual and artful sermons of Dr. Larry Taylor.  These have been such thin places for me over the years.  I hope this might become a thin place for people to gather as rediscover these words.  These are the places I need in times like we are all experiencing.