When I came home from our United Methodist General Conference in May, I shared with you these words: Over these last two weeks, we very nearly split our denomination into pieces. Our differences are stark. Our life together is marred by conflict as much as collaboration. And I’m going to be honest… I’m not quite…
Kenotic Words
worship, sermons, lectionary
Lots to Brag About
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote this letter of encouragement to people who desperately needed some good news, and my prayer for today is that the word of God heard this morning might be encouragement for our troubled souls, too. Let us pray: Holy God, speak into our midst this morning. Fill us with hope, grace,…
Rusty Leftovers
I want to start out this morning with a testimony… This is my experience and I hope and pray that my own story might somehow connect with yours and that the transformation in my own life might point to the way that God might also work in yours. This testimony however is about a topic…
Salt and Light
Last week, I talked briefly about the root of the word, politics… how it refers to the city or the citizen… and how at its core, politics are the relations between people who live in a society. As Christians who live in this society, we have unique sympathies that guide our engagement in this society.…
Fruit that Won’t Spoil
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…
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…