I have always loved Palm Sunday and Holy Week, ever since I was a young child. I remember going to worship on Palm Sunday with my mother and brothers. We were in Sunday school from 9 to 10 then we would help clean up the rooms moving tables and chairs and folding up the retractable … [Read more…]
We all make snap judgments all the time. We have to. Otherwise, it would take all day to make it from bed to work. The other morning my alarm went off and I had to make a judgment call to push snooze or get up and get ready for the day. Then there was the … [Read more…]
Now there may not be too many of us who have experienced adult baptism, or can even say that they remember their baptisms. My first baptism happened when I was 5 months old and recovering from chicken pox. I have no memory of my first baptism. My second baptism was done by the same clergy … [Read more…]
When I was in my undergraduate program at Eastern Connecticut State University, I took a class called the Philosophy of Religion taught by an ex-Jesuit priest. There was a small group of us in the class, maybe 10 to 15 students. Now learning philosophy only really works if you know which questions to ask in … [Read more…]
Have you ever noticed that when you help someone it just completely changes your day? Right before I left the preschool my teacher’s assistant at the time was someone who didn’t drive and the city bus stop was a mile away. I decided that I would give her a ride to her house at the … [Read more…]
This week we look at the idea of devotional time. For many people devotional time congers up very specific practices like daily prayer time or those little books I have out for people at the holiday times. But devotional time is not that specific. It is anything that we do that shows our commitment to … [Read more…]
In 2008, I was out walking on my lunch break in the neighborhood of my apartment. The walk took me past a playground at a local elementary school. There on that playground one beautiful spring day, I watched the children playing as I was walked past. Then I saw a little boy with a bigger … [Read more…]
Trusting in a God that we cannot see is possibly the most difficult in times of change, when it becomes easier to rely on the old familiar idols to bring us comfort. Our idols may not be golden calves or bulls, but we do have our idols. They just come with different faces. Sometimes it … [Read more…]
Last week, we discussed remaining hopeful and using our life experiences for the work of God no matter how challenging they may be. However, I understand that is easier said than done. Paul and Silas make it look so easy to just pray and sing and remain hopeful amid beatings, slander, imprisonment, and possible death. … [Read more…]
I had a close friend in seminary that was going through some challenging times in her life shortly before entering seminary. In one year, she and her husband lost everything they had in a fire, her dad died, and she lost her job. Anybody experiencing what she did would have been more than a little … [Read more…]
