Are You Ready To Come And See The Beauty Of Heaven?  Good Morning Friends,  Today we get a glimpse of heaven and the New Jerusalem and the bride of Christ and the calling of the first disciples. Here the relationship of being a disciple and being part of the called people of God is mirrored … Continue reading Are You Ready To Come And See The Beauty Of Heaven? →

Who Will Feed The Sheep?  Good Morning Friends,  One of God's favorite metaphors in the Bible is that of a shepherd. All throughout the story of Scripture, the importance of leading the flock is threaded though the message. Abel kept flocks. Abraham amassed an enormous amount of sheep and goats. Moses and David were the … Continue reading Who Will Feed The Sheep? →

How Are We To Express Our Thankfulness To God For the Blessings We Have Received?  Good Morning Friends,  Sometimes wealth can be an attractive nuisance and prompt those that envy gold and silver to violence. That is what happened in the time of Ezekiel and the exile. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of this when he … Continue reading How Are We To Express Our Thankfulness To God For the Blessings We Have Received? →

Do You Want To Be Perfect?  Good Morning Friends,  Yesterday at the early service our family played a musical offering on handbells. We had practiced the piece working through our errors and it paid off and the congregation received it with applause. But it was not flawless. Ruth Bell Graham once said, "Christianity is like … Continue reading Do You Want To Be Perfect? →

Do You Really Want To Be Wise?  Good Morning Friends,  Today we read about how the Passover meal strengthened and sustained God's people during their journey to the Promised Land and how Holy Communion strengthens and sustains believers as they journey through life seeking the understanding of the Spirit. It all comes together for good … Continue reading Do You Really Want To Be Wise? →

Are You Ready To Stop The Blame Game?  Good Morning Friends,  We live in a time of victimology and I am not sure we fully understand the specific causes and the nature of suffering connecting victims their perpetrators and other social groups and institutions. There is so much below the surface of our emotions. The … Continue reading Are You Ready To Stop The Blame Game? →

Do We Want God To Forgive Us In the Same Manner That We Forgive Others?  Good Morning Friends,  Today we have a sad passage about the Exile of the people of Israel to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem and a New Testament passage on forgiveness. That God ultimately forgave Israel after the Exile is … Continue reading Do We Want God To Forgive Us In the Same Manner That We Forgive Others? →

How Is God Revealed In Our History?  Good Morning Friends,  There is no doubt that our faith is caught up in Holy History but so too in our personal history as the Holy Spirit reveals the presence of God active in both. To exclude either I think is a mistake for they are in a … Continue reading How Is God Revealed In Our History? →

Do You Still Learn Like A Child?  Good Morning Friends,  Growing up, the one thing I did not want to happen was to get lost. Bad things happened when people got lost, so I was not one to stray too far from the flock. I was never too rebellious, only enough to gain some independent … Continue reading Do You Still Learn Like A Child? →

Are You Willing To Trust And Obey Jesus?  Good Morning Friends,  There is a coming storm and glory for Jesus reflected in today's Gospel reading and our Old Testament passage about Ezekiel's vision of Jesus on the throne of God. But we are going to focus on the Gospel reading today. For here we see … Continue reading Are You Willing To Trust And Obey Jesus? →