I preached the following sermon on May 23: Last Sunday, we explored transitions. We reviewed the journey that we have been walking through Lent, Holy Week, Easter, the season of resurrection, and now, the culmination of Jesus’s absence and the community’s commitment, Pentecost, our celebration of the coming and empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.… Read More »

Over the last few months, we have journeyed together through the wilderness of Lent, through the excitement and sorrow of Holy week, and into the challenging and hope-filled season of resurrection. In the wilderness, we explored those pieces of our experience that are deep and true. Deep relationship, accompanied by deep commitment and deep wisdom,… Read More »

I started driving tractors before I learned to drive a car. But in either instance, both of my parents were not always so keen on teaching me, nor were they terribly interested in riding along. I could always tell when I was not driving the way that my dad would want me to because his… Read More »

We are on the way to Pentecost. We are earnestly awaiting a fresh wind of the spirit to energize us and inspire us toward new and resurrected life. On this fifth Sunday of Easter, we continue to celebrate that our Lord and King, the true giver of all good gifts, is not lying in a… Read More »

During my junior year in high school, my English teacher gave the class some specific rules about writing college papers, some of which I remember today. The first and most important piece of advice for writing was that we picture every writing assignment as an opportunity to talk our reader into something. He would say… Read More »

Jesus is risen. Mary Magdalene saw him in the garden after Peter and John left the empty tomb and the garden to return to the disciples, uncertain of what an empty tomb could mean. The angels told Mary that he had risen, and then he spoke to her. At first, she thought it was the… Read More »

As this Lenten season comes to its final culmination in resurrection, we remember our journey through the wilderness; we remember that deep relationship, accompanied by deep commitment and deep wisdom, leads to deep healing and deep growth. The experiences of deep healing and growth give us the testimony and foundation of deep hope. Deep hope… Read More »

Deep relationship, accompanied by deep commitment and deep wisdom, leads to deep healing and deep growth. Deep healing and growth then become the experience and testimony that sustain deep hope even in the most difficult circumstances. If you remember back to our last encounter with the book of Isaiah in February, we remember that the… Read More »

Deep relationship accompanied by deep commitment and deep wisdom can lead to deep healing, which is what we explored together last week in the book of Numbers. We walked with the Israelites in the wilderness as they struggled to find healing in the midst of great anguish and suffering under the power of the serpent.… Read More »