Sunday, April 28th, 2019 Easter is a season. Far from being a single day event, far from being content to proclaim “Christ is risen!” merely last Sunday when so many were here to enjoy it, we continue our proclamation today. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! And because it remains such good news, and…
Sunday, April 21st, 2019 Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed) And this always comes as such good news to God’s some years frozen Northern disciples. We need good news. We need hope. We need these gorgeous banners, the wonderful music, and all of these flowers. Yet when we read the Easter story in…
Sunday April 14, 2019 Sunday will begin beautifully as we gather in the Narthex with our palms in hand. We will say together, as did those first disciples, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” We will process into the sanctuary together, led by our handbells, re-enacting in our small way,…
Sunday, April 7th, 2019 When it comes to love, how much is too much? Where should we draw the lines? That’s one of those hard, hard questions, kind of like the one Peter put to Jesus one day. “If a member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?…” And to try…
Sunday, March 31st, 2019 Well, it sure didn’t take Jesus long to gather a following. None of the official religious people in the Temple were telling it like Jesus did. Yet, as his gathering grew and grew, so did the grumbling. The shepherds, who likely had no experience with bathing, always were offending the well-to-do.…
Sunday, March 24th, 2019 I just love the wisdom of those who put together the lectionary. For here we are, half way through the Lenten season. Those of us who took on Lenten disciplines, liking giving something up for these 40 days, we are really being tested just now. Especially if your sacrifice involves food.…
Sunday, March 17th, 2019 by David Oliver-Holder There are many experiences in our lives that cause great anguish. One of those experiences is having an offer of help go unaccepted or unwanted. At some point in our lives we all know someone, maybe a family member, who is in distress or danger. And we know…
Sunday, March 10th, 2019 by David Oliver-Holder It was a spectacle that surrounded the baptism of Jesus. People from all over the countryside were coming to that isolated spot by the Jordan River to hear John preach, or to see who was coming, or to see what the fuss was all about. Those who came…
Delivered on Sunday, March 3rd, 2019 By David Oliver-Holder The day had been a long one for Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had been teaching crowds early in his ministry, when at the end of the day he said, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake.” As Mark remembers it, soon after they…