Martin Luther traveled on foot as a pilgrim the 700 miles from Germany to Rome. This experience both exhilarated and mortified Luther as he saw juxtaposed the grandness of Rome and the often, awful condition of the people of that great city. We reflect this week on the global nature of God’s church. We reflect … [Read more…]
Martin Luther once wrote: “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does”. This week you are invited to reflect on your own experience of responding to God’s call to action to live out our faith in the world. This morning we begin our Stewardship emphasis in a fitting way, with a claiming … [Read more…]
Who’s in charge here, I wondered, as yet another horrific, mass shooting happened in Las Vegas this week. In times like these we need to be reminded, constantly, that God is at work in the midst of the world – reminded that God doesn’t ever give up on trying to reach us with God’s grace … [Read more…]
In a world that would seek to divide us, we are given a direction to follow, a way to live and hope for the future. We are invited to follow, to trust, to believe. John 14:1-14 These last weeks have been a focus on the stories of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples after the resurrection … [Read more…]
It is still the same day – resurrection day – Easter day. Today, God is present and near. Jesus is at the table sharing the meal, connecting us to one another and sending us out to be his hands and feet and heart in the world. Luke 24:13-35 It was still the same day – … [Read more…]
“Mortal, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3). This question asked of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones may hit awfully close to home for us and for our world. And yet, even when we are in the midst of it, we still know the end of the story, we know that God’s final word … [Read more…]
When you look out on the world, at the people around you, what do you see? In the 9th chapter of John, we read the story of the man who was born blind who is given the gift of sight. This story makes me wonder about the difference between what we see and what God … [Read more…]
In the give and take of a relationship with God, this “Living Water” that Jesus offers has the power to not only quench our thirsts, but to wash away all that keeps us from living the life that God intends – to wash away all that keeps us from drinking deeply from the living water … [Read more…]
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. –Romans 12:1 To “Place Your Life Before God” takes a huge amount of trust. Think about those leaps of faith, those risks taken in your own life — … [Read more…]
What do you think of when you hear the word “offering”? In a church context, we likely think of the money that is collected during worship. The reality is, however, that God has much more than money in mind when it comes to our “offering”. Listen to these words from Romans: So here’s what I want … [Read more…]