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Joy

Genesis 24:58-67
Romans 7:15-25
St. Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30
In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis talks about one of three particular experiences in his life that gives him joy. It is, he says, “the memory of a memory.”

As I stood beside a flowering currant bush on a summer day there suddenly arose in me without warning, and as if from a depth not of years but of centuries, the memory of that earlier morning at the Old House [in which I grew up,] when my brother had brought his toy garden into the nursery. It is difficult to find words strong enough for the sensation which came over me; Milton’s ‘enormous bliss’ of Eden comes somewhere near it. It was a sensation of desire; but desire for what?… Before I knew what I desired, the desire itself was gone, the whole glimpse… withdrawn, the world turned commonplace again, or only stirred by a longing for the longing that had just ceased.Read More »Joy

Wisdom–Proverbs 9: 1-6

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, TX

Proverbs 9: 1-6

August 19, 2012

 The book of Proverbs depicts Wisdom as a respectable woman, who prepares a beautiful table and invites you to feast with her. In contrast is “the foolish woman,” who “sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high place of the city, to call passers-by who go their way: ‘Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

The contrast is simple. It makes sense. Wisdom invites you. Foolishness tempts you.Read More »Wisdom–Proverbs 9: 1-6

Who is This Really About?

Who is This Really About?

Acts 8: 26-40

Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, Preacher

May 7, 2012

When Margaret and I were visiting in Israel several years ago, our guide was Lee, a brilliant, vibrant lady in her seventies who was originally from Chicago and seemed to have boundless energy. Lee’s day job was as a social worker helping assimilate Jews migrating to Israel under the aliyah, Israel’s “law of return.” The law of return means that Israel will accept anyone into their country as a citizen who can make any legitimate claim to be Jewish, whether racial, religious, or cultural.Read More »Who is This Really About?

Don’t Leave–Transfiguration Sunday

2 Kings 2: 1-12

Mark 9: 2-9

Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, Preacher

When I started as pastor of a small church some time ago, I wanted to kick off with an officer’s retreat that dealt with some of the issues that the congregation had left over from when the previous pastor left. I had a conversation with the Christian educator, who’d been there several years and was quite sharp. He explained to me that people were extremely angry and felt betrayed that the previous pastor had left them. We agreed that a Biblical look at betrayal and abandonment would be a good start.Read More »Don’t Leave–Transfiguration Sunday