Well, it wasn't really a sermon. I took questions from the congregation for 20 minutes. I do this three times a year. Briefly, here's what came up in this morning's Q&A at church (The questions and my answers, edited for space!)
- What kind of food do tapirs eat? (That came from a child. I think it was my favourite question.) (They're herbivores! Thanks by the way to my associate for googling that and handing me her phone, cause I didn't know!)
- What did I like to do when I was a kid? (Also from a child. Something I still like to do - riding my bicycle. In fact, I rode my bike to church this morning!)
- What do I think about mediums and talking to the dead? (The Old Testament was very against it, I'm generally against it because I think it prevents us from letting go and moving on and it shows a lack of trust in God to take care of our departed loved ones.)
- How did Jesus feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes? (I believe in miracles!)
- Could I believe Jesus was divine if he hadn't done any miracles? (Yes - I could.)
- Why do bad things happen to good people? (Because God gives us free will, and when I do something "bad" my choice impacts on others around me.)
- Does everything happen for a reason? (Not pre-planned; God doesn't "cause" everything that happens. Free will again. I don't believe in pre-determinism. But everything that happens is used by God.)
- Is there a delay between when we die and when we get to God? (Paul says that neither life nor death separates us from God, so the answer must be no, since we're never separated from God. And the idea that we have to "get" to God when we die implies that we've been separated from God.)
- Why did Jesus curse a fig tree? (This incident happens just after Jesus entered Jerusalem. I think - knowing what was ahead - that Jesus often became emotional and frustrated. Cleansing the temple, crying in Gethsemane, asking God to spare him from the cross - and cursing a fig tree. These, to me, are signs of Jesus' human nature coming out.)
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