The Christmas decorations are still up. At first blush it looks like the church forgot or thought you wouldn’t notice or thought you would notice but wouldn’t really care. Rest assured that this was on purpose. Today is 12th Night, the last day of the Christmas season, but it does feel at least a little… Read more »
Posts Tagged: suffering
Rejoice!
Earlier this week a couple of folks emailed me asking about the order of our Advent candles–Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy. One member noticed that we had been lighting the candles using a different order than the traditional church–Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy. I will say it’s never a bad day in the kingdom when… Read more »
When ‘Our Father’ becomes ‘My God’
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus’ words from the cross rattle our bones and shake our soul by turning our Godly assumptions inside out. Is it that God is abandoning his son, his only beloved son? Is the burden of the world’s sin so great that a holy God must avert… Read more »
When 'Our Father' becomes 'My God'
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus’ words from the cross rattle our bones and shake our soul by turning our Godly assumptions inside out. Is it that God is abandoning his son, his only beloved son? Is the burden of the world’s sin so great that a holy God must avert… Read more »
Experiencing the Sacred–This Holy Mystery
Click here to listen: Most of the message from Sunday can be found in part in The Book of Resolutions 2004 in the document titled, “This Holy Mystery,” which details the United Methodist understanding of how Christ is present around the Table. You can also find “This Holy Mystery” on the official United Methodist Church… Read more »
To Albany High
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/16/nursing-a-broken-heart-these-12-tips-could-help/ Dear Albany High School, By Grace, God invites us into the divine heart. Through water and the Spirit we are connected to the body of Christ–redeemed and forgiven, hearing the words, “You are my beloved child. I am pleased with you!” As children of God we are invited to gather around the Lord’s Table… Read more »
On the Mountain of Moriah
Click here to listen: I’ve been rereading The Lord of the Rings because it is one of my favorite set of books and . . . it’s one of the few books that I was able to find as we were unpacking boxes. There is a scene about three quarters through the book where the… Read more »
The Twin–Second Sunday of Easter
Dr. Lindsey Pherigo, professor at St. Paul’s School of Theology, once described the Gospel of John as a beautiful string of pearls. Each story is beautiful in and of itself, but when they are strung together, they become a beautiful work of art. Good art is much more than brush strokes on a canvas. Good… Read more »
Jesus' Wish List
Advent is a time of preparation. The first week of Advent we lit the candle of hope. Hope begins with the acknowledgment of brokenness. The world is broken. The shooting in Oregon and the massacre in Connecticut unveiled a reasonless exercise of evil, which defies explanation. This is not the first time that violence surrounded… Read more »
Jesus’ Wish List
Advent is a time of preparation. The first week of Advent we lit the candle of hope. Hope begins with the acknowledgment of brokenness. The world is broken. The shooting in Oregon and the massacre in Connecticut unveiled a reasonless exercise of evil, which defies explanation. This is not the first time that violence surrounded… Read more »