On Wednesday, we celebrated a major holy day of the church. Did you know? Did you gather here at the church in worship and praise? Did you make special food at your home to celebrate? Did you even have any sense that there was something special about Wednesday? Wednesday was Ascension Day. The Ascension is 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus,…

There are certain moments one does not forget. When Peter was born, we were not allowed to hold him at first. As a result, he and I held hands long before I held him in many hands. Over New Year’s Eve, I watched small little hands of an early infant, my son, knowing that those hands were not only crafted by God,…

Have you ever noticed that even those who are repulsed by Christianity are very taken by Jesus? Have you ever noticed that when you are talking with those who consider themselves not or nominally religious that while they may not be able to stomach church folks, they really like hearing about Jesus? Why is that? If we look at the mind of…

I never feel more appreciative of my feet than the morning after I have been on them all day the day before. When I have danced like we did last evening at our Youth Prom Night, when I have stood on concrete all day in bare feet, when I hiked, when I wore my feet out (or so I think), I begin…

As we were preparing for Peter’s first Valentine’s Day, I did the thing the parents everywhere do – I allowed my child to cry for a moment while I made beautiful art. I painted his little feet red and made them into a heart. I was writing the inside of his first little valentines when I realized something I should have known…

On good recommendations, I have been reading the book, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This has been an excellent true story of perseverance, teamwork, and fighting the systems of this world with the commitment to values of the next. Nine young men who are counted out of the prestigious…

It was early in the morning when they went to his tomb. I wonder if any of them had slept the night. They had to wait through the Sabbath in order to prepare his body. I can imagine each of them restless waiting for the breaking of the dawn, so that they could go and attend to their broken hearts in the…

On this Night, these words are spoken in the midst of each Seder. As Jews gather around the table to remember the Passover and Exodus, the rituals are very prescribed. The words of this night are teaching words. Each and every one present knows the words that will be spoken before they are even uttered. The family gathers around the table and…

We join Jesus in Garden of Gesthamene, where Jesus has often joined us. When we cry out to God, when we suffer, when we want it all to be different somehow – when we have no idea even how to offer to God to change the current course of action. We cry out – sometimes with words and sometimes without even the…

8:30 a.m. Service 2-Part Sermon The Lord has Need of You! Getting ready for an event is all hands on deck! Preparation tasks range from the glamorous to mundane and uninteresting. The Lord has need of YOU! Imagine the conversation between the two disciples tasked with getting the young colt. “Jesus is healing and changing people’s lives!” “Yea, Isn’t it incredible?” “And…