October 2022

October 2022

What do Vanocka, English Muffin, Yufka, Zopf, Naan, Bagel, Qistibi, Paratha, Obi Non, and Grissini all have in common?

September 2022

September 2022

I have a very serious question for you: “Why did the math book look so sad?” If you want to know the answer, you must read to the end…

August 2022

August 2022

In the famous words of a much loved Sunday school song, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” Please make a commitment to shine your light over our children.

July 2022

July 2022

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1

June 2022

June 2022

Much like the “Where’s Waldo?” scenes, the more you train your eye to see Jesus, the more you will actually see Jesus. Jesus is out there.

May 2022

May 2022

Jesus doesn’t climb back up on the cross every year; we just remember what he did every year. Until Jesus comes again, we are in the Eastertide season. We are tasked with a single purpose: to show the love and truth of Jesus.

April 2022

April 2022

Besides the milder temperatures and longer days, there is a newness to spring that instills hope to our winter souls.

March 2022

March 2022

Bookends are typically placed at the beginning and the end, or otherwise stated, on both ends (because what’s the beginning, and what’s the end?) of a row of books. They help to keep the books upright and orderly.

February 2022

February 2022

As long as we at Sewickley United Methodist Church continue to profess the good news of Jesus Christ, we will live out our faith by fighting against systems of oppression starting with our own hearts. We will not be on the side of history that repeats itself and continues to benefit from the dehumanization of our black brothers and sisters.

January 2022

January 2022

This does not seem like the start of a cheery message for the hope of the New Year. Yet maybe it comes close to speaking truth to our hearts and the way we feel as we continue to face the uncertainty before us.

December 2021

December 2021

Angels have long been a part of the biblical narrative of heaven and of earth. We understand them to be God’s messengers, a part of God’s army, protectors of truth, witnesses to the kingdom of God, and sometimes even our very own guardians. As we ourselves journey to the manger this Christmas season, we will find in the angels good traveling companions.

November 2021

November 2021

On Thanksgiving Day, you can find about 40 of us gathered in my Aunt’s farmhouse about to demolish the Thanksgiving meal laid out in front of us buffet style. But first… prayer.

October 2021

October 2021

Our worship, our witness, our outreach, our nurture, our administrative boards, our education, our building, our community will be givers of life. This might mean some things will have to be adjusted so we can fully live into being life-givers and life-receivers. Finding life and giving life is the greatest gift we have in this world.

September 2021

September 2021

According to the website Knowing Jesus, the Bible refers to food 1,207 times. Jesus, on multiple occasions, refers to himself as the Bread of Life. We can read a couple of different stories that involve Jesus sitting down and eating with others. There is something holy and mysterious about sharing a meal together that really has a way of inviting others into our lives.

August 2021

August 2021

A wise man (cough, cough, Barry Lewis) said to me the other day that Christians laugh. We laugh. When life is tough, we laugh. When we are full of sorrow, we laugh. Don’t get me wrong, we cry too, and we anger too, but we laugh, because we know our lives are in the care of God Almighty.

July 2021

July 2021

July is the month where many of us will take a vacation or find ourselves going somewhere special for a day trip. It is the busiest travel month for airlines and busways. This also means July is the month in which we have the greatest opportunity to meet new people and spend some time with a stranger.

June 2021

June 2021

Marriage is not about fitting perfectly together, but it’s about compromise and commitment. After a year of being together, I want to offer up these commitments to you.

May 2021

May 2021

We will observe Memorial Day on May 31st. This month, we will remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Military. We observe this day every year as a way to recognize the greatest sacrifice that one can make and those who have made it.

April 2021

April 2021

Some of the most interesting weather I find is when it is raining and sunny out, AND there is a rainbow. It doesn’t seem like all of those things should be happening at the same time. That’s life though, isn’t it?

March 2021

March 2021

When a zero stands alone, it does not carry worth. But when you put a zero behind a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9… it increases the value greatly. If you add a couple of zeros onto the end, well, you know how it goes. In our lives, we will sometimes play the part of the zero and sometimes be the one out front.