Posts from 2023
Peace Be Still
I need time in God‘s presence today. Reading the news and what’s going on in the world has my soul troubled and anxious. Meet me here God; quiet my heart and my restlessness. Let me sit with you this morning. I feel the heaviness, the weight of the world. Others must feel it too. Divisiveness. Hatred. Murder. War. Enemies. Violence. Cancer. Sickness. Weariness. Exhaustion. Stay busy so I don’t have to face it. Keep the devices on, so I can…
Liturgy of Prayer
Spend 40 days in prayer and intimacy with Jesus. We encourage you to read the following prayers each morning, reflecting upon the faithfulness of Jesus as you pray. For more information on our current sermon series and the liturgies below, click here to watch a video from Pastor Brent! Prayer of Approach Oh God, gather me now to be with you as you are with me. Soothe my tiredness; quiet my fretfulness; curb my aimlessness; relieve my compulsiveness; let me…
A Warning
Judas and the other disciples were in agreement. That expensive bottle of ointment the woman poured over Jesus’ head in Bethany had been wasted. It should have been sold with the money given to the poor. After all, wasn’t care for the poor a central theme of Jesus’ message? Matthew tells the story. “Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,…
Ashes to Ashes
The low church Protestant tradition I was raised in did not follow the traditional church calendar and Lectionary. We did not observe Lent and thought those folks walking around with ash crosses on their heads on Ash Wednesday were a bit weird. I have come to believe that was my loss. Once I took the time and care to learn the history and meaning of such observances, I have come to appreciate the symbolism and devotional meaning of them. Today…
Gospel of Matthew: Reading Plan
Throughout Lent, individuals and churches often give up a comfort or adopt an additional spiritual practice to lead to greater self-examination, repentance, and renewal of the soul. This Lenten season, we encourage you to read through the Gospel of Matthew with us. Below, you’ll find a guide to each week of the reading plan. Click on the link to each week to find a written and audio version of the assigned passage. Reading Guide Week 1 (February 26 – March…
My Paradigm Challenged
As I was reading John 9 this morning, I was struck by the interaction between a man healed of his blindness and the Pharisees. What an incredible story with a convicting ending. As the man who had been blind his entire life has to justify his healing, he tells the Pharisees (those with religious power), “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:33 NIV) What happens next is sad and scary. Verse 34: “To this…