When I was a kid, I always wanted to hear from God, and I thought that God presented themselves in dramatic ways, such as the earthquake or fire in 1 Kings 19. It’s only been since I’ve gotten older that I know, often times, God shows up in the quiet moments when we are most vulnerable… like a friend. In order to hear someone whispering, we have to be close to them. So how do we get ourselves close to God so we can hear the whisper?
Some of us get Santa Claus mixed up with Jesus. You better do good, because Jesus is always watching you!
While I was in college, I attended the wedding of one of my wife’s cousins. That side of the Lewis family are Catholics, so this was a Catholic wedding—a new experience for me—held on a Saturday. Towards the end of the ceremony, after communion, the priest informed everyone that they had fulfilled their obligation to attend mass and were excused from church the following morning.
Is that what church is to so many people? An obligation?
“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual.” – John Hancock
If we always see Jesus painted as a blonde-haired, white dude with blue eyes, we white Americans are going to unconsciously place him into “our” categories, all the while leaving out the rest of the world.
We will be holding a single, combined service this Sunday, June 23rd at 10:30 am.
According to Merriam-Webster, a dad-joke is defined as, “a wholesome joke of the type said to be told by fathers with a punchline that is often an obvious or predictable pun or play on words and usually judged to be endearingly corny or unfunny.”
As we graduate, move from one area to another, get new jobs, leave our family, go out on our own, take some big steps; we might find ourselves on shaky ground with shaky knees.
Pride is a positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and gender-fluid people. Pride is also a chance to promote self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and fundamental human rights and to celebrate in a safe environment.
The thing we discover in the pause is the thing that will also have the strength to propel us through the hurry.
Did you know owls can twist their heads 270 degrees or that a 4,000-pound hippo can run up to 30 miles per hour?
This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and the kids are taking over the service!
“A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he knows you are slightly cracked.” – Bernard Meltzer
Whenever you go to see a play, you can be assured there are people working behind the scenes. They are actively getting the stage set for the next scene, waiting for their cue to do a quick, on-stage costume change.
“Give me the beat, boys, and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock n’ roll and drift away.” Who hasn’t wanted to just drift away?
When we say, “Jesus is our strength,” we understand there is another way to overcome the weight of this world and in our lives.
In this final week, we come full circle. Peter has dropped his nets, walked on water, professed his faith, been rebuked, received foot washing, denied Jesus, and run to the tomb. Now, Jesus once again meets Peter at the shoreline where he is casting his nets.
Even after the biggest failures, even after the worst case scenario has happened, can we run toward hope?
They are supposed to be praising Caesar. Instead, they are shouting for the one entering the city on a donkey. Their singing is subversive, courageous, and contagious.
How many times should I forgive? Jesus’s math is not predictable; it’s infinite. Forgiveness is abundant. Grace is not earned.
