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…]
Sometimes we live our lives for our own experiences, for our own purposes, and for our own convenience. This is what we are called to place aside when we come to faith. We are called to start putting the needs of others first and to fight against the injustices of the world. We are asked … [Read more…]
Today is Reformation Sunday. This is an important day for Protestants around the world because this is where our religious sects originate from. But for many of us we have little concept of the radical ideas that went behind such a movement and the courage of many believers and clergymen to stand up to the … [Read more…]
When you imagine Jesus, what does Jesus look like, what does he act like? (Let Congregation answer) I often imagine this well spoken man, a brave man, not the poorest of the poor but not wealthy. I tend to imagine Jesus very much being like me. I imagine him as the ultimate comforter and these … [Read more…]
At our last Lenten Supper as we discussed Christ’s final words on the cross, one of the participants mentioned that when Christ said “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”, that this showed Jesus’ humanity and suffering. I found that this stuck with me as it is something I have spent years pondering … [Read more…]
One of the amazing things we learn from an early age is the art of self-soothing when we are sad, scared, or angry. Watching my nephews grow up, I find it amazing to see just how quickly they have learned those self soothing skills and how they are unique to each individual. When I was … [Read more…]
Let’s do a little exercise. Let’s see how long it takes us to name all the Ten Commandments. Starting now. (let the congregation call out the ten commandments). When I was in seminary, I would often eat lunch with the students of the rabbinical school next door and one day conversation turned to the Ten … [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…]
Bill and I have many a debate at the dinner table usually around history, the Bible, or politics. Sometimes those debates can get to be a little heated as neither one of us likes to admit that we are wrong and will go way out of our way to prove the other person wrong. Inevitably, … [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…]
