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Honest Memory: A Thanksgiving Day Reflection
(This post is an updated version of a meditation I wrote over 20 years ago. I share it today in hopes that it will continue to spark reflection, conversation, repentance, and gratitude) Psalm 78:1-4 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. [2] I will open
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Overwhelming
I will be reflecting on my recent travels for some time to come. Over the years I have often personally lived by the “work hard, play hard, pray hard” motto that has been attributed to a 19th-century Episcopal preparatory school warden. I have never taken the “hard” in that phrase to mean difficult, but something
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He Descended into Hell
(A Sermon for Holy Saturday) Read: Lamentations 3:31-40; Psalm 69; I Peter 3:18-4:6; John 5:24-30 Hell. Polite Christianity does not know what to do with the doctrine of hell, so most people avoid the subject and the word altogether– at least until they hit their thumb with a hammer or experience someone rudely cutting them
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Lent is a journey …
… pace yourself. Lent is not just a season, it is a journey. It also recalls many journeys taken throughout salvation history. When rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, God bore up Noah and his family on a seafaring journey that led to new beginnings for humans and animals alike.
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Snow Worship 2018
It is not often that I ever cancel worship due to inclement weather. This past weekend was an exception to that rule. When one can check radar apps and see a storm system cover 4-5 states to our west and know that system is headed our direction, chances are something is coming no matter what
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The Sky is Falling?
A Pastor’s Reflections on the Upcoming Special Session of General Conference A Year of Mixed Emotions This year has been eventful. In January my family experienced great heartache and sadness when my youngest brother, Kenny, took his own life. The ensuing months have reminded me of what I often tell others: 1) grief does not just
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Advent Retreat 2018
November this year was full and pastoral ministry ended up focusing a lot on bereavement care with families experiencing loss. At some point during those weeks, my wife and I decided to try and get away for 2-3 days in early Advent so we could pray, read, and do some planning and writing. It was
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Defining a Life and a Love – A Funeral Sermon for my Brother
Friends and family, I want to thank all of you for joining us today for a celebration of Kenny’s life. None of us want to be here today, but here we are. In the midst of death, we are, against all odds and all forces that might suggest otherwise … we are here to proclaim
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Every Seventh Day a Miracle
It is a beautiful Saturday morning in the fall. Over the past 3 years, my wife and I have begun living into what we have termed #aPastorsShabbat which begins every Friday evening and continues until Saturday evening. What started out as an “etch a sketch” type of practice in our home has begun to take
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Incarnation as Charge and Challenge
God became flesh. Incarnation – derived from the Latin in caro – to be made flesh. That is the miracle we celebrate at Christmas. Yet we hear the Christmas story so often that we speed right past the scandal of it. Imagine for a moment that you had never heard the story of Jesus. You have
Welcome to my blog! I love theology, life, writing … and the three things often intersect on this blog. I am not sure where I first heard it, but I have never forgotten the quote: “Give me anything and I can tell you about God.” I like that. It doesn’t matter what it is – movies, pop culture, politics, the church, music, motorcycles, basketball, the beach, the mountains, war, hunger, love, forgiveness, or people and personalities – it is all raw material for reflection on the mystery and majesty of God.
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