It was a beautiful morning for worship. Everything and everyone was set up and ready to go. Well, there was one tiny little problem…the ethernet cable was not connecting to the internet. Oh no! The stream was not on, no one could see and hear the wonderful music, the stories, the scripture Exodus 3:1-5 or…

Where have you seen God lately? Have you been looking? Moses was out in the middle of nowhere and there was a bush on fire. Instead of walking on and getting back to work, he stopped to take a look. Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary.  There are burning bushes all around you.  Every tree…

We are living in an unusual time.  But is it ALL bad?  I am taking a walk every morning with my dog.   Families are taking staycations. Before the virus, families got on an airplane for vacation.  Now they are camping in their back yards.  (how fun is this – no its not as fun as spending umpteen dollars on…

In the 44th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet somewhat sarcastically and very convincingly, points out how ridiculous and illogical it is to bow down to idols rather than to God.  At one point he talks about how a man cuts down a tree, uses some of it to heat his house, uses some more of…

Dear Leaders, The inspiration for this devotion comes from some notes I took at a William H. Willimon lecture in 2014. In Karl Barth’s 1934 “Barman Declaration,” a segment of the church stood up to Hitler by asserting that we are saved through the preached word of the church, not by obedience to the state. Barth stated that the church ‘has to…

A Bible study I chose for this summer and highly recommend is: “Psalm 23-The Shepherd with Me,” by Jennifer Rothschild. The author lost her vision as a teenager and illustrates so clearly why this passage is her lifeline. It is a six week, daily study for a passage that is only six verses. It’s giving me a…

Pastor Dave opened worship yesterday with Psalm 124…God has not abandoned us. He taught from Matthew 16:13-20 that Jesus started the church at the gates of hell. When we go there and join Jesus in his mercy to change me, we and the world, we help to emancipate all of God’s people. If you missed…

Romans 12:2 is my guiding life verse of the Bible. The whole 12th chapter of Romans is a pretty good handbook. Go here to read several translations. My favorite is from the Contemporary English Version which translates 12:2 as “Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think.”…

Lately, I have been in a process of growth. This growth is mainly in the form of just becoming more of an adult. I am in the process of switching from my current job as a cardiac medical/surgical nurse to an intensive care cardiac nurse. This has been one of my goals for the past…

The expression “a fallen world” comes from Genesis 3. In this story, Adam and Eve, the first man and woman that God created, break God’s rule forbidding them from eating from the Tree of Knowledge. After they eat “the forbidden fruit” (also where that idiom comes from) they are kicked out of the Garden of…