God of shop and marketplace, of farm and studio,Factory and shipping lane, of school and busy home: Bless the product of our hands.Redeem our work for Kingdom-use.By Your grace, our efforts stand,All offered up to You. There in Eden, You proclaimed that we should work the earth –Stewards over all we named, delighting in theirContinue reading “On Labor Day: A Prayer”
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East Ellington Cemetery
But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. … The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as withContinue reading “East Ellington Cemetery”
You Don’t Know Jack
Thanks to the likes of Mother Goose, everyone knows the nursery rhyme by heart: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. But wait, there’s more! Up Jack got and home did trot as fast as he could caper;AndContinue reading “You Don’t Know Jack”
A Spiritual Health Check-up
If you, like me, attended public school between 1966 and 2012, then you likely remember sweating, grunting, and groaning through the Presidential Physical Fitness Test — A grueling, gym-class ordeal that demanded sit-ups, pull-ups, a long-distance run, and several other selected feats of pubescent strength and agility. For the athletically inclined it was a chanceContinue reading “A Spiritual Health Check-up”
‘The Sun’s Coming Out!’
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the graveside service for Vicki M. Gluck on December 12, 2023, at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon, Iowa. Reflection by Stacy Lowe informs parts the message. When God seems far away – like when death comes calling and steals away someone we love, the candle of our hopeContinue reading “‘The Sun’s Coming Out!’”
When the Way Is Blocked
A battle of wills provides the drama in this morning’s Scripture lesson from the New Testament book of Acts. The apostle Paul has just returned from a busy mission trip on which he founded dozens of churches across the biblical world, and Paul is eager to hit the road again to check in with hisContinue reading “When the Way Is Blocked”
Who Fixed the Roof?
When Mark is your Gospel pilot, best you buckle your seat belts tight. For he takes off into the story of God with us on a short runway, and it’s wheels-up before you know it. As we’ll hear shortly, Mark at the start is a man of few words. He wastes no time launching usContinue reading “Who Fixed the Roof?”
His Name is Key of David
A high-school chum somehow or other landed an after-school job as a custodian at our school. Now, it goes without saying that his part-time gig came with some very unpleasant duties, mostly involving lunchrooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms. But the job did come with what I thought were some very cool perks – like havingContinue reading “His Name is Key of David”
A Little Guilt Might Be Good
It’s your lucky day, folks! You’re going to hear not one but two sermons this morning! Mine, of course, will come later, but the first comes in our Scripture lesson through the Old Testament voice of Samuel, the last of the great judges and the first of the great prophets. As we learned last Sunday,Continue reading “A Little Guilt Might Be Good”
Even in a Broken World
Our journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus begins this first Sunday of Advent with the Gospel of Luke and the story of a faithful, long-serving priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. For years, Zechariah prays anxiously for the birth of a son only to get back what he hears as a great-bigContinue reading “Even in a Broken World”