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Shield Aflame

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch
August 26, 2012
St. Stephen Presbyterian Church
Fort Worth, TX
Ephesians 6: 10-20
John 6: 52-71

As a pastor I’ve seen a few folks die. And yet, because of their faith they are still alive. One is remember is Alice, a dear lady from my last church, who had for years been a hard worker for the church, generous, hospitable, kind. She came down with cancer, and the most difficult thing for her was the realization that she could no longer “do” as she once did. She became very anxious about the state of her soul; how could she please God if she couldn’t “do” anymore?Read More »Shield Aflame

A Personal Journey, 8: God’s Kingdom of Forgiveness

A Canterbury Tale

By the end of my sophomore year at Hampden-Sydney College, Inter-Varsity, our official campus fellowship group, was becoming more exclusionary and judgmental. There were standards that brooked no room for questions or disagreement. I was increasingly frustrated for my friends in IV who had questions, or were troubled in their souls, or who didn’t toe the fundamentalist line, or who weren’t quite pretty enough, cool enough, or secure enough in their faith to fit the IV model. Don’t get me wrong, there were many good, faithful people in IV–but the tenor of the group had become increasingly “Us against Them”–us against the “liberal religion professors,” us against the fratty boys, us against the Creeping Religion of Secular Humanism. Us against the world.Read More »A Personal Journey, 8: God’s Kingdom of Forgiveness

YOUR LIFE IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST[i]

Isaiah 40.27-31   Psalm 130   Colossians 3.1-17   John 15.1-11

August 12, 2012

What do Christians have in common with frogs, snakes, turtles and seals?    Certain frogs, snakes, and turtles are amphibian as are seals, able to live both on land and water.  Christians, as Paul tells the Colossians, live on earth; however, we must set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  Christians must live in two worlds—the earthly world and the not earthly world, described metaphorically as the place where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, meaning the world where Christ reigns in the power of God.      Read More »YOUR LIFE IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST[i]

A Personal Journey, 1: How A Teenage Evangelical Came to See That God Loves Gays

I feel blessed to pastor a church that is recognized in the community as LGBTQI-friendly. (For those who, like me, don’t usually use initials other than when texting, that’s “lesbian/gay/bi-sexual/transgender/questioning/intersex.” If you don’t know what it all means, which is understandable, I recommend: the Internet.)

I believe I am fulfilling God’s calling by serving on a task force to address issues of gay teen suicide and acceptance in Fort Worth.  If you are a non-Christian, you may look at this and think, “Of course. How can anyone who believes in a loving God do anything else?”Read More »A Personal Journey, 1: How A Teenage Evangelical Came to See That God Loves Gays

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?

The Politics of Death: The Mystery of Pontius Pilate’s Strange Behavior

John 18: 33-19: 16

Passion/Palm Sunday

St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, TX

April 1, 2012

Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, Preacher

 

The names are familiar, even if you are not a churchgoer at all: Pilate. Caiaphas. Jesus. The three main characters who comprise a First Century version of “Law and Order:” Jesus, the accused traitor, insurgent and potential rebellion leader. Caiaphas, high priest, arresting officer, and prosecuting attorney. And Pilate, Roman magistrate, judge.Read More »The Politics of Death: The Mystery of Pontius Pilate’s Strange Behavior

Easter Massacres and Good Friday Accords

On Easter morning, March 30, 1997, newspapers reported that “a peaceful rally against government corruption in the plaza outside of the Parliament building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia was turned into a killing field by grenade hurling soldiers. The blasts, which killed 20 and wounded 117, were part of a calculated attack by troops loyal to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge field commander.” Their target was democratic activist Sam Rainsy, who barely escaped with his life. (“U.S. Policy and the 1997 Easter Sunday Massacre in Cambodia,”By Al Santoli. Special To The U.S. Veteran Dispatch March/April/May/ 1997. )Read More »Easter Massacres and Good Friday Accords

PLANNED BEFORE TIME BEGAN; LIBERATED IN THIS PRESENT AGE; IMMEASURABLY LOVED IN AGES TO COME (i)

Numbers 21.4-9   Psalm 107   Ephesians 2.1-10   John 3.14-21

 The Rev. Dr. Warner Bailey, Preacher

March 18, 2012  

 

To preach from the epistle to the Ephesians is a daunting challenge both for the preacher and for you, who must listen.  Paul’s language is high-flying, abounding in multiple meanings, and frankly just a bit weird.  So I have organized this sermon into three parts as you can see from the title: Planned before Time Began; Liberated in this Present Age; Immeasurably Loved in Ages to Come.  You see the progression goes chronologically from past to present to future.  But that’s not how I’m going to proceed.  I will begin with the middle phrase, Liberated in this Present Age, then move to the first phrase before ending with the third.Read More »PLANNED BEFORE TIME BEGAN; LIBERATED IN THIS PRESENT AGE; IMMEASURABLY LOVED IN AGES TO COME (i)

The Sermon I Preached After Last Year’s NEXT Church Conference

The Presbyterian Church “NEXT church” conference is in Dallas at the end of this month. I found last year’s first NEXT con inspiring and educational. This is the sermon I preached on my return. It was Transfiguration Sunday.

The Vision Glorious

1 Peter 1: 16-21

March 7, 2011

St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, TX

Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, Preacher

This past weekend I attended the “Next Church” conference in Indianapolis. I always feel l have to explain that this isn’t the “Next Church” as in, “What’s the next church I’m going to be pastor of?” I’m not going anywhere. No, it’s “Next Church” as in, “What is the next church we, as a denomination, are becoming?” The conference brought pastors, elders, and seminarians together to discuss the future of the PCUSA. It was exciting but also sobering. I’ll start with why we are asking the question in the first place.

The PCUSA and denominational Christianity in general, appear to be at a crossroads. Our authority is no longer taken for granted. Indeed, the authority of the Christian message seems to be universally questioned. Both the church’s message and the forms we use to convey that message seem quaint and outdated, or worse, oppressive and exclusive. We seem both unwilling and unable to change with the times. Are we a dinosaur? Jurassic Church, hopelessly outdated and unable to survive the speeding, earth-shattering impact of the comet of change that’s transforming the world around us?Read More »The Sermon I Preached After Last Year’s NEXT Church Conference

Covenant: Genesis 9: 8-17


By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, TX

February 26, 2012

You probably remember the discussions between Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell after Hurricane Katrina about their belief that this natural disaster had hit New Orleans because of the city’s acceptance of gays and lesbians but also because of their sexual immorality in general. Their perspective was of course offensive at many levels, but it also reflects some pretty commonly-held notions about how God has ordered the universe. Basically the notion is that God has ordered things on a reward-and-punishment system. Bad natural occurrences, like earthquakes or famines or hurricanes, are sent as punishment by God for our moral misbehavior; likewise good things like a successful crop or a child born healthy and whole are the results of good behavior.Read More »Covenant: Genesis 9: 8-17