Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Walter Brueggemann says that Christianity is about God’s command and promise to “Fear Not.” Brueggemann is a very distinguished Old Testament scholar, maybe the best. He’s also a great teacher and preacher. I heard him engage a group of clergy once who were there to hear his scholarly observations on this or…
More than once in the past couple of weeks the words from Mary Jean Irion have come into my view… Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some…
In our worship this week we read from Mark 12:38-44 and heard of Jesus watching people. Jesus watched those who were trying to impress others and he watched a person whom no one else watched. Jesus pays attention to what’s going on. Do we? If you missed it, you can watch here and see photos…
It’s Friday. Always the best day of the week, right? Are you paying attention to what the day holds? Are you present in this moment and for all that may come your way, good or bad? Sometimes we forget to look around. As Ferris Bueller said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look…
Do you know Garth Brook’s top hit, Unanswered Prayers? Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Some of you may know about how Scott and I lost our…
Dear Priests, Every ordained church leader is ordained to be a priest. We may prefer being called pastor or minister , but all of us are priests–that is , each of us participants in the high priesthood of Jesus to the world. Any of us pastors can testify that it is an awesome responsibility to…
If I don’t go to the mountains for a week or two, I get cranky, or crankier as my family would say. A connection to nature has always been in my heart and I am grateful for that. I never had a problem wandering off into the woods by myself when I was kid. To…
Today is All Saints Day but we celebrated it in worship yesterday. Pastor Dave and one his MVHS tennis players shared about letting God into our lives. Our saints help us to do just that. If you missed being with us, you can watch here and see photos here. We take our saints and our…
Tomorrow is Halloween. Also known as “All Hallows Eve” which seems to me to be like Christmas Eve. The day before the real holiday. In this case, the before before All Saints Day. I used to understand that Halloween was a Pagan holiday and thus one to be shunned or avoided. But the more I…
“For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to buildup. A time to cry…