Sermons of Pastor Rob Myallis Pastor Robert Myallis

 June 16, 2024Did you know that a butterfly flapping its wings can change the path, intensity and even existence of a massive storm, like a tornado or hurricane!?“The Butterfly Effect” is the term to describe how in a complex and interconnected system, the smallest change of one variable can lead to a big change in the outcome.As Christians, we’ve confessed a belief in the “Butterfly Effect” before mathematical models were developed around it.  We have long worshipped a God who causes — in this interconnected world — butterfly wings to flap and change the world.  Pastor Rob develops this theme by looking at the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4).This is a message we need to hear, especially in our world of “big and terrible” news in which we lose all sense of our and even God’s capacity to make a difference. 

 June 9, 2024 Things go wrong for Jesus after his “graduation” – he leaves town, makes friends with the wrong people, gets in trouble with the law and finds religion.  When he gets home, its a bit too much for his family who confront him about this.  At this point, things get even worse, with him renouncing them (Mark 3:20-35)  The end?Because our God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation, the story goes on and does work its way toward new life.  Ultimately Mary, his mother, will come back — as Jesus is dying on the cross.  And his brother and he will be united — after the resurrection.This is certainly good news for us, because time and time again in our families, we run into situations in which frustration and unaligned expectations cause deep hurt in our families.  We often pray for years for healing. A reflection on how the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness into our families.

Holy Trinity 2024 (Also Confirmation!)Decisions, decisions, decisions!!Life is full of decisions; for young people, each decision comes with so many options.  Their life feels very much like a “Choose you own adventure” story:  What to study, whom to befriend, whom to love, where to live, what teams to try out for…This all sounds exciting, except that with many choices comes the potential to make wrong decisions.  This can lead to lots of anxiety — did I make the right decisions?A reflection on a man with a decision to make – Nicodemus (John 3).  Turns out he doesn’t make the right decision, but God has decided that he isn’t done with Nicodemus!(Note: The sermon today is especially targeted toward the 14 year-olds being confirmed, but it likely resonates with all of us who face decisions in life and worry about the past decisions we’ve made.)

 Pentecost 2024 (May 19)Life speed is fast and only gets faster.As life gets faster, making sense of life becomes harder and harder to do.  A reflection on where we go to find still waters.(Hint:  Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the church!)Also, an admission of what to do when, no matter what, it doesn’t fully make sense!

Ascension 2024 (May 12)Pastor Rob reminds us of the crafty gifts we gave to our mothers on Mother’s Day (and other such days) using a poem called “Lanyard.”  While such gifts are sentimental and cute, they really don’t adequately repay the mother for all that she has done.The disproportional love of parent to a young child is a great illustration of God’s love for us, which is far greater than we can comprehend.  On the Ascension Jesus gives his last instructions to his disciples.  Not surprisingly, he asks not for lanyards from them.  Rather, he asks for them to be his witnesses, those who speak the truth.The truth we speak about — including on Mother’s day — includes the reality that sin and death are powerful forces in this life that grind away at relationships and bring us grief.  But chiefly we bear witness to God’s extravagant grace in Jesus Christ.

Easter V (April 28, 2024)“He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit.”   These words often sound threatening and cause us to ask:  “Am I one of the branches that will be pruned or not?”Pastor Rob invites us to see this a bit differently.  Rather than be concerned with “Who is in and who is out?” instead we are to ask ourselves “Which me is in and which is out?   Each of us a side of ourselves — truly a version of ourselves — that needs to be pruned.  Yet, each of us has another side — another version — that is bearing fruit.  Our life in Christ, abiding in him, means that we are constantly being pruned, yet also raised up to new life to bear fruit.Once we embrace ourselves as people who are pruned to bear fruit, we can embrace the humility and charity Christ intends for us.  This humility and charity, as it turns out, is what enables us to live in community; these virtues are also, as it turns out, in short supply right now.  This presents an opportunity and challenge for us at St. Paul.