A Variety of Denominations We’ve started confirmation for our church’s Middle Schoolers recently. We’re Zooming with about 25 6th graders on Tuesday nights and around 75 7th & 8th graders on Wednesdays. It’s their weekly mid-week Christian education time. This year, our young people will be learning...
A Sense of Urgency This parable about a wedding banquet gone wrong is a bizarre story (Matthew 22:1-14). Matthew, our gospel writer, extends Jesus’ parable, adding even more dire twists and turns because, scholars believe, Matthew is trying to convey to his audience, and to us,...
Chilly Mornings, Warm Beds The weather in these last couple days and nights has shifted. Its chilly out there! I’ve quickly transitioned to snuggling under the covers for my night’s sleep. And I’m already finding it more difficult to crawl out of my cozy blankets in...
Living in Harmony? I don’t know about you, but I am someone who hates disagreement and conflict. About 6 years ago, our church staff took personality inventories and I learned that my number one strength is “HARMONY." That means I want everyone to get along and...
"Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) During this uncertain time, prayer gives us a way to feel connected to each other and Christ. It gives us something we can do to help each other and the world around us. It keeps us connected to and reminds...
Changing Seasons Here in Madison we’re making it through the hottest week of the summer. As I sat on our back deck the other evening when the sun was lower in the sky, it was still 80 degrees out, but the leaves from the neighbor’s tree...
Wrestling with the Law As we continue through Paul’s letter to the Romans, you'll hear the same reminder tonight (Romans 10:5-15) that you heard last week from Pastor Chris (Romans 10:1-5). The author of Romans, Paul, is a brilliant, faithful Jewish man articulating the insights God has...
How many times does the same miracle performed by Jesus get recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)? Honestly, I’m not going to give you time to really think about this, because the total number doesn’t require too much counting. That’s because...
Weeds, rocks, thorns – there’s a lot that threatens to kill newly sown seed. But what of those seeds that land in good soil? What of the seeds that are sown, that take off? What does one do with good growth and varied sizes of...
Today on Father’s Day, when we want to be together and celebrate with love and family, we’ve got Jesus coming along saying “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother.” What’s a preacher to do with...
Where are you from? A number of African-American women spoke to the public at the end of the Black Lives Matter Solidarity March on Sunday evening. Madison Alder Barbara Harrington-McKinney spoke about how quick we are to judge one another when we don’t even know each...
The First Pentecost The story of Pentecost from the Book of Acts has so much going on, that it’s hard to pick a highlight for our attention. Still, here’s what hits home for me, right now, from this great story of the Holy Spirit’s grand stirring...
Jesus said, “This is my commandment: That you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) In normal times, personal contact is the typical way we express our Christian care and love for one another as the body of Christ. As a routine part...
May 21, 2020 is officially Ascension Day in the Christian calendar throughout the world. Ascension Day always takes place on a Thursday, as it occurs 40 days after Easter Sunday. In that time frame, the story of Jesus’ ascension sits between the stories we’ve been...
"I don't get it." Remember back when you were in a classroom at school? Who knew when I’d say this, I’d even be inviting our children to remember back when they were sitting in a classroom at school?! Wow – such times we are in! Anyway, no...