Lea Matthews: "A Flexible Faith" (Sermon for September 8, 2024)

Remember Walkmans?  
Remember cassette tapes?  

Well in that same era, I have a distinct memory of "borrowing" my mother's Jane Fonda workout tape and putting it into my walkman.  I set off on a walk.  The design of this particular workout was to support you on a walk, giving you guidance and encouragement along the route as you listened to the music.  So you'd bop along to the groove and every once in a while, Jane would pop on and say, "Try to push from the back leg as you walk to propel you forward." Or she'd suggest lengthening your stride after walking for a time.

I still think of her advice when I'm walking "with purpose."  Her tips made an actual difference.  They turned a casual and absentminded stroll into an intentional series of movements and stretches. 

This Sunday, we come to a portion of the Epistle of James that tries to figure out what differentiates a living faith from a dead faith.  The writer believes that it has a lot to do with how it's worked out, how active it is, how intentional, used, and lived in it is.  Maybe reflecting on it together can help stretch our faith a bit, reminding us that faith is something we do, not something we have. 

In Faith,

Pastor Lea