20 Mar, 2023
In Mark 6:45-52, the author tells a wonderful story about Jesus walking across the water and subsequently calming the wind. Now, we know that people can’t walk on water, and certainly not in the midst of a strong wind and raging waves. Hence,...
13 Mar, 2023
What does it mean to be authentic? That was a rabbit’s hole if I ever went down one! Who knew? The topic seemed like a good one when I chose it a month or more ago. Intentionally Living Authentically is the original title I gave this sermon,...
06 Mar, 2023
Have you ever heart of kintsugi ? Kintsugi means "to join with gold" and is an art form that goes back hundreds of years to the Muromachi period (approximately 1336 to 1573). The story is that the third ruling Shogun (or leader) of that era,...
27 Feb, 2023
If you were brought up in a fairly traditional Christian household, you may have experienced the season of Lent as a somber time. For many years it was considered a penitential time to reflect on one’s sins, to seek forgiveness, and to be...
22 Feb, 2023
Before we dive into the topic of compassion, let’s differentiate between compassion and empathy. Those two words are often seen as interchangeable and synonymous, but they are actually very different. Empathy is centered in the emotion part of...
06 Feb, 2023
You are the salt of the earth. But what if salt were to lost its flavor? How could you restore it? It would be fit for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ~ Matthew 5:13 If you were a first century person sitting on a hillside...
23 Jan, 2023
The book of Acts documents some of the early development of the Jesus movement. In Acts 9:31 we hear that the small house churches the apostle Paul (still called Saul at the time) established throughout the region were at peace, building...
09 Jan, 2023
So, my partner and I don’t really fall into the category of big New Year’s Eve celebrators. We didn’t stay up until midnight, we didn’t even watch the ball drop in New York. It’s been years since we’ve celebrated with friends. But this doesn’t...
19 Dec, 2022
John Shea talks about not turning a story into an idol. He says, "It is merely a gate they open so we may go inside.” So, let’s go inside the nativity story in Matthew to consider Joseph for a few minutes. Joseph was a fine, upstanding Jewish...
12 Dec, 2022
Erma Bombeck once wrote an article entitled “The Lost Christmas.” It began like this: “There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child…” Do you remember experiencing the wonder and magic of Christmas...