Since we are continuing this morning with the gospel of John this week and Jesus’ imagery of the vine, I thought I’d share with you another story about my own garden. It has been a very busy couple of weeks, and although I have had time to glance at the pumpkins, I pretty much have…
Ordinary Time
The Sweetest Grapes are Closest to the Vine
This spring when I planted my garden, I included some pumpkins for my husband. Typically, I try to avoid plants with vines, because they tend to take over the entire garden. I plant bush varieties of cucumbers and squash and beans to keep everything more compact. But pumpkins don’t come in bush varieties 😉 I…
Everyday, Ordinary Worship
It’s Sunday morning. According to the Pew Research Center, even though 77% of adults in Iowa claim the Christian faith, only 36% of those people commit to going to church worship at least once a week. Another 33% attend anywhere between twice a month to a few times a year. If we are generous with…
every piece of the pie
I’ve always liked playing Trivial Pursuit. The questions were always so difficult, but I like that the game aims to help you be well-rounded in your knowledge. The goal is to get every single different piece of the pie filled in… only then do you win the game. Maybe that’s because I’ve always been somewhat of…
Untitled
In today’s parable, Jesus is in the middle of teaching his disciples one last time. He is only days away from his crucifixion in Jerusalem, days away from leaving them, days away from his death. Jesus wants to make sure they are prepared for life after he is gone. He is asking these people to…
Build the Church Again
It is the last Sunday of the fair. The final Sunday of the Olympics. The last Sunday before the school year starts for our children. And the final Sunday of our Summer of the Prophets. It might be hard to believe it, but this summer we’ve covered about 400 years of biblical history. We’ve…
The Beloved Community
Today, we enter the world of Micah… a prophet from the late 8th century… just over 700 years before Christ. And to put ourselves in Micah’s shoes, I want you to imagine with me for a moment a world that is under great stress. Imagine pressure coming from an aggressive empire or state that believes…
Lamentations and Investments
I must confess it was difficult to pick just one passage from Jeremiah and in the light of the events of this week, I wasn’t sure that I picked the right one. I wondered if I should have chosen from Jeremiah 8 and 9: Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?…