Here we are at the fourth Sunday of Advent. The waiting and anticipation, the quietness and candle-lighting is leading up to the moment of the Nativity. On Christmas Eve we will gather to “let every heart prepare him room!” All of our songs and Scriptures and candles will help us hold vigil outside of Mary’s […]
How to Stay Awake
“Does Advent even matter when the world is on fire?” The title of this article really grabbed my attention earlier this week. I wasn’t sure where the author, Sarah Bessey, was going, but I thought, “She’s got a point, doesn’t she?” I mean, who do we think we are going about lighting our candles and […]
Are you willing to be filled with THIS Holy Spirit?
So when we read this prophecy from Joel 2, I think it’s easy for us to read it about ourselves. I want each of us to stop and think of situations in our lives that feel desperate, where there is ruin or devastation. Maybe it’s in our personal lives. Maybe it’s as a church. I […]
Demolishing Dividing Walls
Last week we read from Luke 13, one of the many accounts of Jesus breaking the “rules” and stepping all over cultural expectations. In that passage Jesus was brazen enough to heal on the Sabbath. The Synagogue (church) leader was outraged at Jesus’ disrespect for one of the Ten Commandments. But I wonder if the […]
Nourishing Fruit
Was it just me or did anyone else feel some incredible discomfort in hearing the lectionary passages this morning? Psalm 52’s “Judgment on the Deceitful,” Amos’s condemning prophecy against those who give little and take much, the weighty responsibility of Colossians 1, the awkwardness of Martha complaining to Jesus in Luke 10? Sometimes it’s easier […]
God With Us
For the 7 weeks since Resurrection Sunday, we have been aligning ourselves with the Spirit Empowered Stream of Christian Tradition, seeking the power of the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. We cling to the message Jesus gave to his disciples as he predicted his ascension back to the right Hand of His […]
In All Things, Give Thanks
Homily for the Monroe Area Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service As followers of Jesus we are tasked with joining Him in his work of bringing healing and wholeness to the world. This is what we pray every time we say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We must recognize […]
The Call to Priesthood + Servanthood
For those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus, I believe our lectionary passages this morning call us to fill two roles in the Kingdom of God – those of Priest and Servant. “Hold on. Me?,” you say. Yes you. I’m pretty sure many of us would just assume ignore the passages that talk […]
The Other Side of Mother’s Day
Sermon Transcript on May 13, 2018 Monroe Free Methodist Church Mother’s Day – a day that encapsulates the both-and of the Christian life, both joy and suffering, both celebration and mourning, both crucifixion and resurrection. Many churches have beautiful Mother’s Day services, passing out precious momentos and honoring all of the awesome mothers in the […]
Submitting to Suffering
God of suffering and glory, in Jesus Christ you reveal the way of life through the path of obedience. Change us today. Create new hearts in us, Hearts desiring to walk in in the obedience Of Jesus. Break all the things in us that need to be broken In order that we might live fully […]