The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that a farmer plants in the middle of their field. Two weeks ago, this farmer in Jesus’s story threw seeds everywhere. Last week, they let the weeds grow with the wheat. And today, our farmer makes another very curious choice. A mustard seed is incredibly tiny,…
Kenotic Words
worship, sermons, lectionary
In the Weeds
My husband and I moved to Cedar Rapids in October of 2012. At that dreary time of year, everything that had been growing in the flower beds had died away and dusty brown leaves covered everything. That winter was desperately cold… but I knew there had to be something planted in those flower beds. Sure…
Recklessly Lavish, Wastefully Abundant
This past Sunday, I stepped into the pulpit at Immanuel UMC for my first morning as their new pastor. I had actually been in the pulpit before. Working with Imagine No Malaria, this had been one of many churches I had visited over the past year and a half. There was something very different, however,…
How Does Your Garden Grow?
One of my biggest disappointments about moving in the middle of the summer is that I didn’t have a chance to put in a garden. Transporting peas and tomatoes and peppers and squash across the state just doesn’t work very well… not that I had time to plant and weed and care for a garden…
What I am learning as I give up social media for Lent…
#1 – I seek praise, sympathy, solidarity through social media. The smallest, most insignificant thing could happen and my first instinct is to post it so that other people will comment and respond. It is attention-seeking behavior that often slips into a self-centered focus. Having to constantly fight the urge to post has led me…
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This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone…
Expectations and Realities
Sermon based on Luke 1:39-55 and Matthew 11:2-6 About a year ago, I began working with Imagine No Malaria here in the Iowa Conference, and I have to tell you… since then, I can’t look at a pregnant woman the same way again. In our scripture this morning, we actually have two pregnant women –…
The praise of crickets
Today, I discovered this recording of crickets, overlayed with the same recording slowed down. Their song is a hymn… voices in harmony… like the sounds of a human chorus. It got me thinking about Luke 19: 37-40. Even if we don’t notice, the whole creation is lifting up a song of praise. Even if we…