Last week I mentioned how little Will Bassett asked me what God sounded like and how would he know if God was talking to him. Jewish rabbinical tradition tells us to look towards nature for the word of God. We are told to look towards nature for our heavenly inspiration. I love to go out … [Read more…]
When I was in college, I was a member of a 50 person African American Gospel choir, where I learn so much more than about how to sing. I learned about myself and about God. Many of the members came from the more evangelical and Pentecostal faith traditions and so every practice morphed into spontaneous … [Read more…]
Advent is the time of year where we contemplate the hope, love, joy, and peace offered to us in the Christ child. Yet, every year the Sunday after Christmas we hear this horrifying tale of the killing of the innocence which initiated Jesus, Joseph, and Mary’s flight to Egypt seeking safety from those who would … [Read more…]
The wise men saw a star rising in the East that shown out through the darkness of night and to the place where Jesus was born. And like his star shining through the darkness, Jesus was also that light to a world in need starting right from his birth. Jesus was that shining star, that … [Read more…]
My great grandmother used to sing and play her piano for me when I was a child. She worked so hard to teach me Silent Night. And she would always say that when she was younger she could sing but she hadn’t used her voice in so long and no longer could sing well. But … [Read more…]
I have often been asked, “Why do you believe in God?”, or “How can you believe in a God that allows for people to be abused?”. I have been asked this by friends and family members alike. These questions haunt me in the middle of the night, as I worry about the masses of people … [Read more…]
So I was reading Weird Church this week and came across the Greek word oikos and immediately thought to myself “Yogurt? What does Greek yogurt have to do with church? That’s bizarre.” But as I continued to read I learned the Oikos is a very important and ancient Greek word that became synonymous with the … [Read more…]
I’m hungry. How many of you are feeling hungry? It’s alright to admit that sometimes we feel distracted by basic human needs like hunger and thirst. I remember being a child in church and being excited that it was communion Sunday because in my mind it was the one Sunday in a month that Jesus … [Read more…]
A few years ago I preached on forgiveness and the relationship between my mother and her eldest sister: a sister who cut herself off from the family for more than 30 years now. After worship that day, I was asked if the relationship had been repaired and if so how did that start. At the … [Read more…]
As a child, my father trained my brothers and me about the ins and outs of planting a vegetable garden. My father is a very organized man. He spends time planning out his garden: where it will be, when to rotatill the soil, how big the garden will be, and which way the rows will … [Read more…]
