Graduation Time!

Congratulations, graduates, wherever you are! Graduation is often called "Commencement" and for good reason: your classes are over, you've passed your exams, and you're starting life in the real world, ready to apply what you've learned. This is a big moment! Even for those of us who graduated many years ago, we remember what an important part of life this is.  --And did you know, there's a similar 'commencement

3X3: A Good God, and Evil in the World

My nephew's young daughter died last week. It's started me looking again at the question "If God is good, why is there evil in the world? Much smarter people have opined on this, but I've come up with three basic ideas, outlined as A, B and C below. Please bear with this non-philospher as I struggle

Torches, Jars and Messages

(This is a reiteration of a few points from last Sunday's sermon time -- I hope you enjoy it!)
The story of Gideon gets space in many children's Bibles and storybooks, because it's so visual and adventurous. A basically ordinary guy is called by God to deliver his people from

Jesus Loves Us Little Children - and Has Gifts for Us

It's a familiar scene to Bible readers -- Jesus and his disciples are discussing deep, important spiritual matters, and little children interrupt them. The disciples try to push the kids away but Jesus intervenes and calls them over. It's a lot more than "cute." This scene shows the very essence of Jesus' ministry, then and forever. Jesus' words and actions open up two

You Need to Breathe

You need air, right? We've been breathing air since before we knew that air was actually 'real' instead of just a clear essence. Air also has power when it's moving, like when the wind catches the sails on even a huge ship and moves it along. God knew this, and the power

Victory through Surrender

Our "tough guy" culture tries to tell us that only those who are strongest will survive, and sometimes you just gotta beat up on your enemies. Culture says that, but not Jesus. He brought a whole different method of defeating evil -- surrendering to it, absorbing it, in order to free us.

Isaiah 50 describes a servant who would not

Walking through Walls

Remember Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection? In two accounts (Luke 24:36-43 and John 20:19-20 and 24-29) Jesus shows up inside of a locked room. The disciples thought he was a ghost, but he had them touch

Outlook: Cloudy with 100% Chance of New Life

Less than halfway through his gospel account, Luke records Jesus turning the corner toward his crucifixion, in chapter 9. Twice (in verses 21 and 44) he predicts his death, Then in verse 51, he "resolutely set out for Jerusalem." All this emphasis on such a small slice of time gives us a detailed understanding of the events around our Savior's death and his miraculous -- and world-changing -- resurrection!  As we finish up our

Lent: Stopping to Notice the Heart of God

So how is your life during Lent, without chocolate or sugar or whatever you decided to give up? However you've done it, I hope you've drawn closer to our loving God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Here's another suggestion of a way to journey through Lent into the heart of God:

"Renewal Information Enclosed"

I pulled an envelope out of the mailbox the other day, with "Renewal Information Enclosed" in big letters across the front. I opened it excitedly -- maybe it was an offer for a free vacation somewhere, or even better, a retreat where my spiritual energy could be renewed. No such luck, they were just billing me for another year's membership in this organization. Bummer! But the good news is, renewal information is already inside

To Tame the Monster

Nessie. Bigfoot/Sasquatch. Grendel.  Cancer, AIDS, Zika and many other diseases. Nuclear threats, climate change and the presidential election. A thousand more named and unnamed spooks like vampires and werewolves, that make us

Darkness, and Jesus the Light

Waaay back in history -- around 1500 BC -- the children of Israel were in Egypt, enslaved by the Pharaohs, and working long hours under the lash, for no pay (and you think your job stinks!). The Lord sent Moses and Aaron to set them free, but it wasn't a simple process -- if it had been, the book of Exodus would be about three chapters shorter! Along the way, some of the events look

Inside, Outside, Rightside Up

It's easy to envy the rich and famous. They don't seem to worry about paying the bills, or the daily grind like the rest of us. Sounds pretty attractive, right? Except it can be catastrophic to our spiritual life. Jesus met a rich young man in Mark 10:17-25, who showed us just how strong the hold of riches can be on us. This man was so attached to his physical stuff, that he turned down a chance to

A Blessed Life

There are some great words of blessing in the Bible. Some of them are so wonderful they bring me to tears. The one I was reading last night with a couple of friends really struck me. Here it is in

"What's That In Your Hand?"

God can do anything, including everything that looks impossible for us -- like creating the universe from nothing, to start with! What's interesting is that he has continued to do the impossible, but now he's also doing it through

Be Still and Know...Part 2

Last time we looked briefly at what silence is about, and some of its fruits. Let's continue to look at those concepts, and see what we

New Clothes, New Life

I just purchased a new pair of jeans and was surprised again by how dark blue they are compared to the old ones I've shredded in the last few years. New clothes always feel unfamiliar and a little awkward, but at the same time warm and special -- almost like a

It's Here -- and It's Spreading!

"One of these days..." is a frequent phrase with some people I know. Like them, I'm looking ahead to the time when peace and joy will cover the earth, death and disease and war will be no more, and the only tears will be from joy. YES, it's coming! Better than that, it's already

Shame Is Defeated

Our culture is good at handing out shame. Some parents use it to control their children, and in the entertainment industry, shame is a common source of humor at someone's expense. We

Oh, For Joy!

I can't get over it. There was something going on in the minds of all the followers of Jesus after he was crucified and then raised out of the grave, that keeps coming back to surprise me and to make me,