In worship we were challenged by Luke’s gospel and how we are invited to be ready (more appropriately – be alert for the change that is coming so we aren’t surprised) and to remember that God’s greatest joy is to lavish us with God’s blessing; not to punish humanity. The letter to the Hebrews reminds […]
Greetings as August dawns and the end of summer approaches. We are thankful for those who join us in the midst of It can be fitting, as a preacher/story teller, that I offer the prayers “may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight…” because sometimes our […]
In worship today we continued our journey in Ordinary Time, exploring the mission of our church and the people who are faithful followers of God. We heard Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer and listened to the “bumper sticker” – ask, seek, and knock – until you hear God’s response (then repeat). The letter to […]
We are continuing our journey is the season after Pentecost (often called Ordinary Time). A sad choice of names because the lessons of “Ordinary time” are anything but ordinary. The Psalmist spent time (rightly) accusing those in power who act like God isn’t present. Paul reminded the Colossians that Jesus was the image of God […]
In worship today we spent time remembering what it means to be called by God. Not just to a life filled with grace and mercy, but a life also filled with responsibility to God and the justice that God demands. The Psalmist reminded us that we need to be just and not favor those who […]
In worship we heard a variety of stories in scripture. From Elisha healing Naaman simply, by having the “proud general” Naaman bathe in the Jordan 7 times. The power of God works in ways that are not human ways. Paul concluded his letter to the Galatians reminding them that, while each individual is responsible for […]
In our celebration of life and memorial service we shared prayers and hymns of celebration and affirmation of God’s grace. We heard the message of hope and truth in our readings: that God has prepared a place for us and that God’s place is large enough to have everyone beyond imagination present. The hope we […]
In worship we had offerings about Elisha receiving his commission from God through Elijah and the conferring of a double share of Elijah’s wisdom on Elisha. Our gospel stood out as it showed a disturbing part of the mentality of Jesus’ disciples – on the trip through Samaria to Jerusalem (and ultimately his death). We […]
In church today, we were invited into scripture and “suffered” through the singing of Psalms 42 and 43 (all 14 stanzas – long for a psalm). But the theme of the psalm played well with the rest of our readings: that we should long for God’s word in our lives – like we long for […]
In worship we celebrated the Feast of the Trinity. Ironically, this Sunday is the only Sunday that revolves around a doctrine as opposed to a definite scripture. But that doesn’t make the presence of Trinity Sunday any less biblical or less important to our formation as Christians. For it is specifically the Trinity that brings […]