After the assassination attempt against former President Trump, both sides have been calling to tone down the political rhetoric.  Words are incredibly powerful and cultivate the soil from which events happen, both good and bad.  Words can be creative, life giving, enlightening, and empowering.  They can also be destructive, draining, darkening, and belittling.  This week, we look at many things the Bible has to say about our words and the impac

One of my favorite bible verses is Romans 8:28-29 “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those who God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”  This particularly helps me to know that even when life is hard, that God can even use that suffering to produce beautiful things in and from my life. As a result, I can live thankfully in all seas

Jesus often spoke to people through stories that related to their everyday lives.  Speaking to the people of the fertile plains around the Sea of Galilee, Jesus told this parable about a farmer sowing seed upon different kinds of soil.  Each kind of soil represents the hearts which receive the Good News of God’s Kingdom.  Our job as followers of Jesus is to prepare our own hearts and then sow Jesus’ Good Seed indiscriminately trusting t

I had just spoken to the parents at New Hope Opportunities School on Proverbs 3:5-6 before we left for the airport to return home from Honduras.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will set your paths straight.”  And then we began our crazy two-day journey home after several debauched flights.  I thought…really God?  Do I need to learn this lesso

Our American Culture never rests! Instead, employers send emails late at night expecting a response by morning. We work even on our days off. And studies show that we sleep less than what is healthy. But Jesus invites us into a different rhythm of life. One that is not burdensome, but light. One that incorporates time for much needed rest and renewal so that we can be energized for the journey that lies ahead.

On Mothers’ Day, we honor our mothers for the gifts of God that they are or were in our lives. They wear so many hats as they nurture us to be the people that we become. Clearly, we are to honor them as the 4th Commandment requires. But in today’s text, it can seem that Jesus is being a tad dishonorable to his mother, Mary. When he asked this question, “Who is my mother?”  it wasn’t that he dishonored her, but he set the stage

This question was not asked by Jesus, but by two angels who watched Jesus' disciples witness his bodily ascension into heaven. This past Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Geordie Ziegler said that the ascension is one of his favorite Christian holidays and one of the most important for the Christian Church. Why? Because the disciples would then have to rely on the power of Jesus' Holy Spirit which lived inside of them and less on his physical presence

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus asked this question of Peter three times.  Do you love me?  And each time, Peter just couldn’t respond in a way that matched Jesus’ expectation of sacrificial love.  Why is this?  I think it was because at this point, before he had been empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter was still very much a carnal believer and not a mature disciple of Jesus Christ.   

If you’ve ever been skunked while fishing, then you exactly how Jesus’ disciples were feeling in our scripture story this week.  They had been out fishing all night and didn’t catch a thing.  That was when the resurrected Jesus met them and cheekily asked them if they had caught anything.  Deep within Jesus’ questions surfaced issues of grief, purpose, and connection.  

Following Jesus' resurrection, two of his disciples encountered Jesus as they walked home from Jerusalem.  They were processing all they had experienced, along with their hopes and dreams.  Jesus asked them this question not because he didn’t know the answer, but because he wanted to see if they knew the answer to his question.  What he found was that even some of his closest followers had unmet expectations and misundersta