Brian's Sermons

[I started this service by reading Psalm 136] This past week we celebrated one of the most vital religious holidays of our culture. This holiday was created to celebrate the one thing that is most important for Americans. People celebrated by doing some things that we do pretty much every day, but on a really grand scale. All kinds of people gathered in huge crowds to celebrate. Yes, I am talking about Black Friday, the holiday we celebrate by getting up insanely early to buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Our culture really is all about money; there is a reason people talk about the Almighty Dollar. People don’t set out to worship it, but that’s precisely what happens. The entire presidential election centered on the economy (nobody wanted to talk about foreign policy or anything else – it was all about jobs and taxes). Black Friday ends up overshadowing Thanksgiving, not even waiting until Friday anymore to open. That said, mo...

Last Sunday in the “Dear Abby” column in the Columbus Dispatch, I came upon this letter: Dear Abby: I have a friend, “Dick,” who wears veteran hats — “Vietnam Vet,” “Proud To Be a Marine,” etc. — that imply he was in the service. The problem is, Dick was never in any branch of the military. He claims that he is “honoring” veterans by wearing the hats. But when he goes into a restaurant or other place that offers military discounts, he always inquires about them. And he has never refused the offer of one or admitted that he was never actually in the service himself. I come in contact with real military service people who deserve to wear these hats. I asked a couple of them about what to do with Dick, but you can’t print their responses. What’s your take? — Values Honesty in Ohio You can probably guess what Abby’s response was. Dear Values Honesty: The fact that I can’t print the reaction of legitimate veterans to what Dick is doing indicates how offensive and wrong it is...