Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus speaks of his "hour"-- the time at which he will be condemned to death. Everyone else who comes to this hour-- Judas, the apostles, the Crowd, Pontius Pilate-- makes decisions based on their attachment to worldly things. The Good News is that Jesus was prepared for... read more →
Mar
21
Mar
14
Lent is a time for remembering our mortality and humanity. God forced the people of Israel to see their human weakness as they wandered through the wilderness in order to save them. Likewise, we believe it’s by accepting our weakness and reliance on Christ that we find strength. When we... read more →
Mar
07
Jesus is the only person in human history who perfectly fulfilled the Ten Commandments in his life. The rest of us transgress the Commandments in ways large or small. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has forgiven our sins and given us the opportunity to lead a new... read more →
Feb
28
We’ve all heard empty promises. We may have even made some ourselves over the years. Throughout the Bible, God makes big, extravagant promises that sometimes seem absurd, but they aren’t empty because God keeps his promises. The Bible and our lives are filled with examples of God’s kept promises. How... read more →
Feb
21
The Gospel of Mark begins in the same place as the book of Deuteronomy: in the wilderness on the bank of the Jordan River. In both cases, God is at work—the people of Israel have been in the wilderness, and God is bringing them home. The last year has been... read more →
Feb
17
During Lent, we try to stay at the cross and not jump ahead to the empty tomb, but it is impossible to separate the two. The cross has a purpose. Jesus died on the cross so that “we should not perish but have everlasting life.” We will return to dust, but we... read more →
Feb
14
The heavenly sometimes presses into the earthly. The Kingdom of God is sometimes found on earth. Beauty in words, song, art, nature, tends to put us in mind of Heaven and I do fully expect Heaven to be gorgeous. There will be birds, flowers, literature, music, musical instruments, that we’ve... read more →
Feb
07
The Crowd is present throughout Jesus' ministry, clamoring to get close to him, crying out for healing and deliverance. The presence of the Crowd in the story of Jesus reminds the Church of the depth of our human need. When we join the Crowd and cry out to Jesus to... read more →
Jan
31
When Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, a man with an unclean spirit cries out. Jesus, with great authority, casts out the demon and in doing so, frees the man, restores his relationships, his ability to earn a living, his mind, and control of his impulses. Jesus uses his authority to... read more →
Jan
24
Pour out your hearts to God. Tell God you’re afraid of losing your dad or your grandma, or that you feel numb, or that you’re angry. Tell God about what made you laugh out loud this week. When you talk to God, be honest. It’s in the telling of your story to... read more →