As we sit here this morning and think about feasting with the saints, I’m thinking about eating a honey and butter sandwich with my grandpa, my Deda. I’m Czech, you know, and my Babi and Deda were big parts of my life growing up. He was a really quiet sort of guy. He didn’t say…
Spiritually Blind
I mentioned earlier this week a youth group conversation about Mary Magdalene and demon possession. There are so many different ways of understanding what demon possession might have been about and what Mary’s demons might have been. I’ve had demons explained away and described lots of different ways. Illness. Mental disorders and illness. Cultural misunderstandings…
Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Fan Fiction
Who was Mary Magdalene? A prostitute? A wealthy businesswoman? Did she wash Jesus’ feet? Was she married? to Jesus? Was she dumped at the altar by John the Baptist? The stories about who Mary Magdalene might have been are wild! This weekend, I lead a discussion about Mary Magdalene among the youth at my church. …
Count the Cost
I have four different apps on my phone that are designed to help me get healthy and fit and lose weight. One of them is a weekly meal plan full of healthy, high protein, low calorie dinner options. It comes complete with a grocery store list and nutritional information for each meal. One…
I Believe…
Nearly five years ago, I lead this “Enough” study with my very first congregation in Marengo. I remember vividly how I had planned out the whole series and had all of my notes ready to go for Sunday morning. I had sat down to start writing about the American dream and how our quest to…
Rules for a Global Church
For the past five weeks, we have used the visual reminder of small rocks like this one to help us live into our scriptures. We have seen them lined up as a dividing line between us and them, and as a recreation of the body of Christ. We felt their weight as they added up…
Exercise and Practice
This thought was waiting for me in my email inbox this morning, as I finished day one of working out again: Here is a traveler. He has launched out on a long journey. He comes to the first inn, and there he remains forever. His reason? He has been told that many travelers have come…
Justice, Kindness, and Mercy
As we began worship today, we sat for a bit with images that reminded us of the story of the prodigal son, or daughter in this case. The question that I asked was simple: Do you celebrate and rejoice when someone who is lost has been found? Or are you like the brother or sister…