Graduation Celebration

This week in church I called our seniors who had graduated up before the church. I had a short video of their parents saying how proud they were. It included pictures of them growing up. After the video I explained that their next steps may take them too far for them to continue attending our church on a weekly basis. I explained that I called them up because I wanted the congregation to see their faces, so they could reach out to them. I wanted the congregation to ensure that they knew that we loved them, and that they would always have a home here, no matter where they go, or how long they are away. We celebrated with them. We showed them love. As I received feedback this week it seems this was one of the most powerful things we did in church this week. It built the church up, it built the kids up, it built their families up. Don't miss the chance to do that this summer!

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Death Will Lose it's Sting

Our reading from the Narrative Lectionary this week is 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. In these verses, Paul reveals a mystery, that in the end some will be transformed, given a new body, instead of facing death. In other words death is not one of life's two certain terms. It seems taxes may be the only guarantee. "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes ." - Benjamin Franklin. Ok, all jokes aside, these verses are difficult to read. Paul looks forward to a time when death will have no victory, it will have lost its sting. But today, we are in the middle of a pandemic, surrounded by death. Many are scared for their lives, or their loved ones, and too many have already been lost. Death does not seem to have lost its sting at all, it feels as if it is closing in. When I worked in wilderness therapy I remember holding a child who was desperately trying to kill himself. We cried together as he struggled to end it, and I struggled

Fool for Christ

Our reading from the Narrative Lectionary this week is 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 13 stood out to me. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. - 2 Corinthians 5:13a (NLT) John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard churches did a famous sermon called "I am a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?". Reading this week's text reminded me of this wonderful sermon. Wimber's sermon reminds us that, as christians, we are called to something truly radical. The christian walk is strange and counter cultural. Jesus once explained this to his disciples in John 15 "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. You don't belong to this world, I have chosen you out of it. That is why the world hates you." Peter, in a letter to the church, later referred to all of us as strangers just passing through this world. Do you feel like a stranger? Do you feel like the world hates you? Are you a fool for Christ? Here is the thing, you are going t

Prayer Part 2 of 4

This is the second of four weeks the narrative lectionary is focusing on the Lord's Prayer as found in Luke 11:2-4. This week we are focusing on the second section: "Give us this day our daily bread." At the time and place that Jesus said this, bread was the center of every meal. To his people, it had a long history of being a symbol for God's provision. It was often used to refer to any meal or food, and in this case Jesus expands it to represent all of our needs. A long time ago, in a place that had been ravaged with war, orphanages were overwhelmed with children. In one of the facilities, the relief workers noted that the children had trouble falling asleep each night. They struggled with anxiety, wondering if they would have food for the next day. Their lack of sleep led to more anxiety and a troubling downward spiral of their mental and physical health. In an effort to meet their needs the workers tried something new one night. As they tucked each chi

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