Entering the Graciousness of God
Jesus tells to forgive those who hurt us, and pray for our enemies but this is not just a new set of rules – be nice to others even when they’re not nice to you – rather it is an invitation to participate in the grace of God, as the sons and daughters of the Most High.
Holy Living
Are the beatitudes in Luke still relevant? If Jesus were teaching us today would he leave any out? or add anything? I suggest that he would focus more on social justice and creation care.
Meet the Prophet Jeremiah
Introduction: An American vice president half a century ago taunted his detractors by calling them “Jeremiahs,” and also “nittering nabobs of negativism.” That vice president later resigned in disgrace, while the words of Jeremiah live on forever. Yet while today we may have more words from Jeremiah than from any other Biblical prophet, we perhaps rarely read them. They’re not easy to hear. Therefore, our guest preacher Mike invites us to take in all the span of Jeremiah’s long…
Disciple, Apostle, Prophet
What is your calling? Are you called to be a prophet like Isaiah, a disciple like Simon, James and John, or an apostle like Paul? I think we are called ot be all three – to learn form Jesus, to share God’s grace with others and to be active in working for social and racial justice.
Transcendence
It seems that our ancestors experienced moments of transcendence – of heaven breaking through – when the scriptures were read. What makes transcendence more likely? How can we prepare ourselves for God to reveal Godself in our lives?
Epiphany
Photo by Jacob Dyer on Unsplash
God is well-pleased
Our ministry is to bring the qualities of the Spirit into every interaction, every relationship. God is well-pleased with us and that is why we choose to make this our life’s path.
Disruption and Peace
We are constantly having experiences of exile and loss; we are also constantly being led out of exile and loss into the promised land where we can live every moment aware of the presence of God. The trick is to live with both; to find the peace of God’s unconditional love in the disruption of our lives, because it is the Christ who brings peace and the Christ who brings disruption.
The New Relationship
Luke 2:1-20 I wonder what the shepherds thought they would find when they went into Bethlehem? The angel said that a baby will be a sign but the shepherds didn’t say to each other, “Let’s go and see the baby” – they said “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” I wonder what they were expecting? I also wonder how they found the right place…
The Angels are Singing for you
I have two radio stations programmed in my car radio – KCBX for Public Radio and KUSC for classical music. This morning I was driving into San Luis Obispo, listening to Morning Edition on NPR. The segment was about our relationship with Russia. Suddenly I couldn’t listen any longer and hit the button for KUSC, which took me into the middle of the Angel’s Carol by John Rutter. What a contrast; from human conflict to angels singing peace on earth. …