This morning, we begin a new sermon series, Biblical Reality Shows. The families of the Bible are our families. Their stories are our stories. We live with our proud moments and our flaws side by side. As we walk through some stories in the time of the Judges, let us learn from biblical reality shows how best to care for one another.…

This is our last sermon in the You are a Piece of the Puzzle series. We conclude our series on stewardship this morning with consecration and the celebration of the pledges and commitments that we have made and will make regarding our lives and our discipleship. We conclude with the question Are you all in? Are you committed? Will you live in…

I can remember some of the first times that I went to Steve’s Christmas parties for work. Everyone dressed up, brought their spouses and significant others, and conversation flowed. As introductions were offered across tables, the very first question asked to spouses who did not work at Steve’s company was what do you do? As in what is your occupation? It was…

There is no frustration like folding a basket of laundry and coming to end with leftover socks. In our house, there is a basket of socks waiting for their partners to be found across loads of laundry. There is no exasperation like spending the afternoon putting together a 500-piece puzzle, only to find out 1 piece is missing from the box. There…

Anyone who has ever tried to fit one more thing into a carefully choreographed, packed to the gills kind of day, understands puzzling over the clock. Many of us feel as though we have little give in our day to day. There are things we must do – we must sleep – although statistically, very few of us get the recommended 8…

As we begin this morning, let’s take a little survey – how many of you have every prayed one of these prayers – feel free to raise your hand Now I lay me down to sleep God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner. The Lord is my shepherd Bless us,…

It was two Fridays ago. Felicity, my younger daughter and I had just walked Alisabeth, her older sister to the bus stop and had a good 45 minutes before we had to leave to take Felicity to CMO. It was a Friday, my Sabbath day, so I, uniquely, was in no rush. Felicity and I were eating breakfast together at our kitchen…

This Sunday, we continue our series All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and Sunday School. We have explored playing fairly with one another as well as last week, when you go into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. I based this on the wisdom of the book from years back by the same title,…

This week, we held our seventh cottage chat. I have so been enjoying these cottage chats, because they give me a deeper glimpse into the people and character of this congregation. I have also been enjoying getting to know the values and dreams that you all hold dear. One of the values that has popped up again and again in every cottage…

I wonder if you heard the one about the pastor who was visiting various classes during the Sunday School Hour to see how they were doing. One Sunday she visited the class of 6th grade boys. They were talking about things in the Old Testament. After listening for a while, she thought she would quiz them, “Who knows who knocked down the…