The sights, sounds, and smells of the holidays lift our spirits and warm our hearts. But these holy days are frozen in melancholy for those who work the land: For the farmer whose acreage lies fallow under a blanket of snow and ice, for the backyard gardener whose little plot sits as dull and lifelessContinue reading “A Pure Heart”
Category Archives: Sermons
A Worshipful Heart
According to AAA, nearly 82 million Americans were expected to travel 50 or more miles over last weekend’s Thanksgiving holiday. And among that horde going over the river and through the woods, 6 million hardy souls got to grandmother’s house by airplane. And all those flyers yearned (or even prayed) for hassle-free journeys that satisfiedContinue reading “A Worshipful Heart”
A Listening Heart
An ecumenical mix of thoughts and reflections from a handful of Christian writers have strongly influenced the foundations and practice of my faith and belief. Words from Parker Palmer, a Quaker, encourage me to live more courageously and authentically. “Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conformsContinue reading “A Listening Heart”
A Forgiving Heart
At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I was a late-20s single man; I’d been promoted to managing editor of a small daily newspaper in northeast Wisconsin; I’d just purchased my first house. And I wanted to get a dog – a boyhood desire that my parents long refused. So, off to theContinue reading “A Forgiving Heart”
An Old Heart Becomes New
At the risk of reducing the grand truth of our relationship with God to a few mere words, let me say this: God loves you just the way you are. If you think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith was more muscular, you are wrong. If you think God’s love forContinue reading “An Old Heart Becomes New”
Together Forever
“Is this heaven?” wonder we Iowans when ruminating on a cinematic field of dreams. So also wonder all God’s people in hearing this morning’s dreamy Scripture lesson for All Saints Sunday from the New Testament Book of Revelation: Is this heaven? Is the apostle John imagining God’s heavenly field of earthly dreams? Or does JohnContinue reading “Together Forever”
Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
The scriptures – God’s perfect Word trapped within imperfect human word – are the direct source of our faith and the most important rule of our living. The written Word teaches you how to glorify God. One of our fallen world’s more-wicked displays of sin emerges when a crafty person finds a tricky way toContinue reading “Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone”
A Bridge to Somewhere
Dressed in layers of flannel and wool to ward off the autumn night’s chill, the grieving faithful gathered along the riverbank for a farewell ritual that bore trappings of a good, old-fashioned Irish wake. They bowed their heads as a clergywoman offered prayer. They raised bubbling flutes of champagne in tribute to auld lang syneContinue reading “A Bridge to Somewhere”
Places in the Heart
Thankfully, mercifully, at long last – after much painful labor, after heartbreaking loss and hardship, all signs finally point toward a happy ending. Or at least a next chapter that’s not quite so bad. To eke out a meager existence, they battled unfair circumstance and, on the frontlines of combat, forged a camaraderie of deep,Continue reading “Places in the Heart”
A Psalm 34 Morning
As we ready to listen for the Word of the Lord in Psalm 34, let us again be together in a place of prayer – Startle us, O God, with your truth, and open our hearts and minds to your wondrous love.Speak your word to us; silence in us any voice but your own. AndContinue reading “A Psalm 34 Morning”