Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Last week’s Gospel passage ended with: You cannot serve God and wealth. Which begs the question, what can you serve along with God? Today we get a glimpse…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Making sense of today’s parable is a Herculean effort, so I hope you’ll stick with me as we try to unpack it a little bit this morning. Let’s start with what’s the parable, and…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. In 2006 when we moved from Massachusetts to California, we didn’t know anyone. Not an easy thing to do with a 15 month in tow while starting two careers. In fact, when we moved…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. And just then appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. I wonder what your favorite image of Jesus is? Perhaps it is the One who is called the Good Shepherd, or maybe the Prince of Peace. Do you connect with the One who…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Our abundance lies not in things, but in a life big enough to be shared.[1] Abundance. When you hear this word, what comes to mind? (listen) The dictionary has three nuances to the definition:…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Once upon a time I taught 7th & 8th grade at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic School in Hyde Park, on the south side of Chicago. Teaching in a school that encompassed Pre-K…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. I have spent more time in prayer about writing a sermon this week than I have for a long time. I’ve been trying to figure out how to preach here, today, in the aftermath of…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Okay, here’s your biblical Greek vocab word for the week: splanchnizomai. This word, found three times in the Gospel of Luke, means compassion. In today’s Gospel…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to pay attention when a word or image or theme comes up across multiple conversations or in different spheres of my life, often in what…