Dear Friends, Perhaps your phone alerted you to the all too unimaginable evil that unfolded today at the Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our thoughts and prayers fail to contain the depths of sorrows brought on by the epidemic of gun violence affecting our land. As I have prayed for the families, […]
Tag Archives: prayer
Maybe five times in my life I’ve cooked for more than 20 people. But, during seminary, I decided to take our youth group to a Christian Rock music festival, where we camped and cooked in a barely improved farm field with 18,000 other young people and their dedicated adult leaders. After a day of music […]
Mark tells no back stories: no theological images like John, no genealogy like Matthew, and no birth narrative like Luke. Mark begins with John the Baptist. Jesus was about 30 years old, the age when many men got married, when he decided to travel to the Judean wilderness to hear John the Baptist preach. John […]
Three acts into the 28 scenes of the Acts of The Apostles, Peter and John land in jail just like Jesus. They were arrested, jailed overnight, and dragged before the same court that crucified Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing that preachers should avoid politics, stay away from trouble and […]
Earlier in chapter one, Luke tells us that Elizabeth “was righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord,” but she and Zechariah were unable to have children and were getting on in years. Each year, Zechariah went to Herod’s temple to serve as a lay priest for several […]
Luke opens the “Good News” of God’s coming Kingdom (Luke 8:1) with a little contrast: “During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah”. There were tens of thousands of lay priests in Israel but one King. King Herod was an agent of the Roman Empire having been appointed by […]
Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 I memorized this scripture and others at the suggestion of my middle school youth […]
Last week, Sarah McWhirt-Toler shared how our lives can fill up with to-do lists that seem to crowd out life. She asked, “What possessions do we need to shed so that we might be present with God?” Jesus had quite a to-do list: heal the sick, proclaim the Good News, feed the hungry, save the […]
God, our refuge and our strength, we feel the fierce urgency of the now. We long to save the soul of our nation.* We can not be satisfied with injustice- anywhere. We lift up those who endure excessive trials and tribulation. May your creative power redeem their suffering. In our struggles, keep us free from […]
Our Father Loving and Sovereign Lord, we cry out to You for justice, healing and peace. Who art in Heaven We long for Heaven where faith, hope and love reign eternal. Holy is Your Name Your path is Holy, never hateful, vengeful, unjust or prejudiced. Your Kingdom come Your Kingdom comes as […]
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