Ouch! My month-long sabbatical didn’t exactly go as planned. Just a handful of days into my much-needed break from the demands of daily life and responsibilities of ministry, I took a tumble down a short set of concrete steps, as I set out for a hike on an otherwise-sunny spring day in northeast Wisconsin, theContinue reading “God’s Naughty Child”
Tag Archives: grace
Spotting Jesus
Sprinkled across the Gospels are scenes that all play out with similar plots. In the presence of his closest friends and followers – the Twelve Apostles, Jesus does something extraordinary. He cures the sick; he cleanses the unclean; he raises the dead. What for Jesus is the stuff of daily ministry understandably leaves the ApostlesContinue reading “Spotting Jesus”
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”
Two Worlds Collide
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ How beautiful are the feet of the messenger.” (Isaiah 52:7) My feet hurt. My right knee aches. My left shoulder twinges. Some of my aches and painsContinue reading “Two Worlds Collide”
The Covenant: An Invitation into Lent
The 40-day season of Lent – a time of prayer, reflection, fasting, and repentance – leads up to Easter’s celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert wilderness before beginning his public ministry. During his wilderness time, Jesus endured and fought offContinue reading “The Covenant: An Invitation into Lent”
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
Children see the world differently. For a toddler, a caterpillar is a miracle. For a kindergartener, a tall pine is a modern marvel. For any kid wearing galoshes, water is as much for joy as it is for survival. Then, somewhere in our childhood – in adolescence, maybe – peer pressure mounts to outgrow suchContinue reading “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”
Another Day in Paradise
Technically speaking, God’s Tenth Word tackles coveting. “Thou shall not covet” your neighbor’s house, or your neighbor’s spouse. Not another’s servants or hired help. Not a donkey or an ox – or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. Or a friend, and even a stranger. Just so we’re all on the same page, toContinue reading “Another Day in Paradise”
No Other Gods before Me
Over the years, I’ve preached sermon series on any number of themes, but for no reason in particular, the one topic I haven’t touched in depth is the Ten Commandments. So, for the next 10-or-so weeks, we’re going to be unpacking that list of do’s and don’ts – given by God to Moses, aContinue reading “No Other Gods before Me”
At Our Best
Some of the Bible’s most intriguing and inspiring stories describe events or phenomena that are exceptional and unprecedented. In those-remarkable-but-rare instances, God’s Holy Spirit in Christ is uniquely present, and like a match set to a pack of firecrackers, the Spirit sparks a chain reaction of explosions that inspire awe and wonder. This morning’s ScriptureContinue reading “At Our Best”
Sober Inebriation
Amazement and astonishment – awe and wonder – have been hallmarks of our Scripture lessons these past few Sundays. Consider, for a moment, where the ancient words of the story of God with us have taken us: Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus leaves earth in physical form. His body returns to heaven, where GodContinue reading “Sober Inebriation”