I want to live, I want to giveI've been a miner for a heart of goldIt's these expressions I never giveThat keep me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldKeep me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldI've been to Hollywood, I've been to RedwoodI crossed the ocean for a heart of goldI've been in my mind, it's such a fine lineThat keeps me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting oldKeeps me searching for a heart of gold and I'm getting old

Saw you stretched out in room 1009With a smile on your face and a tear right in your eyeCould not seem to get a line on you, my sweet honey loveBerber jewelry jangling down the streetMaking bloodshot eyes at every woman that you meetCould not seem to get high on you, my sweet honey loveMay the good Lord shine a light on youMake every song your favorite tuneMay the good Lord shine a light on youWarm like the evening sunWhen you're drunk in the elevator with your clothes all tornAnd your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawnJust seen too many flies on you, I just can't brush them offAngels beating all their wings in timeWith smiles on their faces and a gleam right in their eyesThought I heard one sigh for youCome on up, come on up, now, come on up nowMay the good Lord shine a light on youMake every song you sing your favorite tuneMay the good Lord shine a light on youWarm like the evening sun

You say you want a revolution Well, you knowWe'd all love to change the worldYou tell me that it's evolutionWell, you knowWe'd all love to change the worldBut when you talk about destructionDon't you know that you can count me outDon't you know it's gonna be alrightYou say you got a real solution Well, you knowWe'd all love to see the planYou ask me for a contributionWell, you knowWe're all doing what we canBut if you want money for people with minds that hateWell, all I can tell brother is you have to waitDon't you know it's gonna be alrightYou say you'll change the constitutionWell, you knowWe'd all love to change your headYou tell me that it's institutionWell, you knowYou better free you mind insteadBut if you go carrying pictures of chairman MaoYou ain't going to make it with anyone anyhowDon't you know it's gonna be alright

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no reliefBusinessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earthNone of them along the line know what any of it is worth”“No reason to get excited,” the thief, he kindly spoke“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a jokeBut you and I, we’ve been through that, and this is not our fateSo let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late”All along the watchtower, princes kept the viewWhile all the women came and went, barefoot servants, tooOutside in the cold distance a wildcat did growlTwo riders were approaching, and the wind began to howl

Justice is the presence of God’s healing presence in the world. It's God’s ongoing work of setting right a world gone wrong. When people are suffering, where the strong oppress the weak, when people are suffering lack, the justice of God comes. When the brokenness of our world keeps people pushed aside and robbed of dignity and value, the justice of God comes to heal and restore. When we do justice and love kindness we are joining God in God's mission on the earth.

God is like Jesus.God has always been like Jesus.There has never been a time when God was not like Jesus.

Just like we have four directions and four seasons, we have four Gospels. These four distinct, yet complimentary witnesses, give us a full portrait of Jesus Christ. We need all four Gospels just like we need the whole body of Christ. Luke, the third Gospel written, gives us the most human picture of Jesus. It's from Luke that we see the prayer and table practices of Jesus.

Matthew opens his Gospel with these words: “The book of the genesis of Jesus Christ.” So we could say that Matthew is the Genesis of the New Testament. But in a Christian reading of Scripture, Matthew is actually the genesis of the whole Bible—for it is only as we look back on the Old Testament through the light of Jesus Christ that we can read the Old Testament in its proper light.

The New Testament opens with four Gospel witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ. Each of these Gospels has their own voice, perspective, and particular emphasis. The Gospels are not mere biographies—they are theologically driven documents. They differ in historic details because they’re interested in theological reflection. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not mere biographers, they are theologians.

On Trinity Sunday the church emphasizes that the living God is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity is not a word found in Scripture, rather it is a formulation within the Christian religion drawn by the church from Scripture in concert with the Holy Spirit. It took the church three centuries to arrive at the creedal statement about the Trinity set forth in the year 325. In the Council of Nicaea we see how the Holy Spirit works with the church in the development of the Christian religion. But I also know that some modern protestants balk at Christianity being referred to as a religion. So today I want to address the question: Is Christianity a Religion?