Sermons by Rev. Joel Lynn

  Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, mathematician, inventor, and theologian, he believes that most men are in a near constant state of trying to shield their thoughts from the reality of death. And you can probably imagine some reasons why. It’s not the happiest of things to think about. We often joke that you aren’t supposed to talk politics or religion with other people, but I think you can probably add death to that list of impolite subjects of conversation. It is too sad to contemplate, too gloomy to discuss.             Pascal believes that the specter of death looms over us, hangs over us. Because even if we are happy now, well we want to be happy forever, and so we do not wish to dwell on the fact that things cannot always continue as they now are, we do not wish to dwell on the possibility of loss. But, as we know, death is inevitable. And that inescapable destiny gloomily reminds us that all we have now is tempo...

             Today we’re finishing our series in the book of Daniel. And so far in this series we’ve talked a lot about King Nebuchadnezzar, and the ways that he came to eventually see that God was the true God and learned humility. Yes, God revealed his power to him multiple times as Nebuchadnezzar relied on Daniel to interpret dreams for him, as he saw Rack, Shack, and Benny saved from the fiery furnace, and as he was reduced by God into an inhuman, animal like state until he learned humility and had his kingdom restored to him. And now the book of Daniel jumps ahead a bit in the story to King Belshazzar who was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. Our bible translation said Nebuchadnezzar was the father, but a better translation is likely ancestor based on what we know from extrabiblical historical records, and indeed the Hebrew word here is used to refer to ancestors more broadly both in Ezra and Daniel in other places. Yes, history tells us that Nebuch...