Greatness

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 GreatnessFebruary 28, 2024 Jeremiah 18:1-11, 18-20  |  Matt 20:17-28  |  Psalm 31: 9-16“but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came...

Honoring God

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Honoring GodFebruary 27, 2024 Isaiah 1:2-4, 16-20 | Matt 23:1-12 | Psalm 50:7-15,22-24“Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God.”  Psalm50:24As we have been...

Hmmm

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Hmmm February 26, 2024 Daniel 9:3-10 | Luke 6:27-38 | Psalm 79:1-9Jesus said, “I say to you that listen,  LOVE YOUR ENEMIES…          Do good to those who hate you.                Bless those who curse you.                         Pray for...

Where Do I Walk in the Covenant with God?

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Where Do I Walk in the Covenant with God? February 25, 2024 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16  |  Romans 4:13-26  |  Mark 8:31-38  |  Psalm 22:22-30In all the readings for this the second Sunday of Lent a reoccurring theme has somehow taken up space in...

Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Feast of St. Matthias the ApostleFebruary 24, 2024 Acts 1:15-26  |  Philippians 3:13-21  |  John 15:1, 6-16  |  Psalm 15 February 24 is the Feast of St. Matthias in the Episcopal church and the readings for today celebrate him. Many may...

Help us better understand God’s love.

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Help us better understand God’s love. February 23, 2024 Ezekiel 18:21–28 |  Matthew 5:20–26  |  Psalm 130Lent is my favorite time of the church year.  Forty days to remember Christ being tempted by the devil.  His strength.  His love for...

Becoming

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Becoming February 22, 2024 Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1–6,12–14  |  Matthew 7:7-12  |  Psalm 138When I read today’s lessons, I was so excited! I love Esther. She is so inspiring- a Cinderella/Joan of Arc woman. If you ever think “I can’t do...

The peace of being renewed in right spirit awaits us.

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 The peace of being renewed in right spirit awaits us.February 21, 2024 Jonah 3:1-10  |  Luke 11:29-32  |  Psalm 51:11-18At my first reading, today’s texts all seemed to be about evil – honestly not my favorite part of scripture. As I re-read...

Pray, Forgive, Overcome

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Pray, Forgive, OvercomeFebruary 20, 2024 A terracotta sculptural model of Saint Matthew by Giuseppe BernardiIsaiah 55:6-11  |  Matt 6:7-15  |  Psalm 34:15-22As Christians, we are called to grow into the image of God. What does that mean?...

Sheep and Goats

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Sheep and Goats February 19, 2024 Leviticus 19:1-2, 2:1-18  Matt 25:31-46 Psalm 19:7-14The parable of the sheep and the goats… This one intrigues me—especially upon learning our beloved Fr. Tim and his dear wife Diane will soon be not...

Destructive, yet life-giving – water.

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Destructive, yet life-giving – water. February 18, 2024 Genesis 9:8-17  |  1 Peter 3:18-22  |  Mark 1:9-15  |  Psalm 25:1-9Water. Beautiful to look at, refreshing to drink. But what happens when there is too much? After the January storms...

Listening, Doing, and Knitting My Heart to God

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Listening, Doing, and Knitting My Heart to God February 17, 2024 Isaiah 58:9b-14    |    Psalm 86:1-11    |    Luke 5:27-32“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.”Today’s...

How Fast to Your Fast

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 How Fast to Your Fast February 16, 2024 Isaiah 58:1-9a  |  Matt 9:10-17  |  Psalm 51:1-10Support Support us, O Lord, with your gracious favor through the fast we have begun; that as we observe it by bodily self-denial, so we may fulfill it...

Choices

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 Choices February 15, 2024 Deuteronomy 30:15-20  |  Luke 9:18-25  |  Psalm 1″See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity…I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life...

All You Need Is Love!

Home > Lenten Blog 2024 All You Need Is Love!February 14, 2024 Joel 2:1-2, 12-17  |  Isaiah 58:1-12  |  Psalm 103  |  2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10  |  Matt 6:1-6, 16-21When we began to put plans together for our Lenten blog, I was surprised and somewhat amused that Ash...

Magnificent!

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Magnificent!December 25, 2023 Luke 1:46-55Today, many of us will give, receive, and open presents. We will hear a litany of phrases like, “wow, just what I wanted!” Or, “this is great!” Or, “um… well… it is clear that you put a lot of work...

Christmas Eve with family

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Christmas Eve with family December 24, 2023 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16  |  Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26  |  Romans 16:25-27  |  Luke 1:26-38We are nearing the end of the Advent season. And today’s scripture reminds me just how far humanity had fallen to...

God Bless the Child That’s Got Her Own

Home > Advent Blog 2023 God Bless the Child That’s Got Her Own December 22, 2023 Zechariah 7:8-8:8  |  Psalm 40  |  Revelation 5:6-14  |  Matthew 25:14-30Back in 1968, the rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears released their second album, which included their version...

Believing is Seeing!

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Believing is Seeing! December 21, 2023 Habakkuk 2:1-4  |  Psalm 126  |  Hebrews 10:35-11: 1  |   John 20:24-29Thomas was known as “Doubting Thomas”.  He did not believe things unless he saw them himself.  He did not believe Jesus had risen...

Where do you find Joy?

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Where do you find Joy?December 20, 2023 Isaiah 55:6-11  |  Psalm 46  |  John 15:1-11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11 This is the 3rd week of advent. The pink candle...

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Home > Advent Blog 2023 The Lesson of the Fig Tree December 19, 2023 Zechariah 2:1-13  |  Psalm 45  |  Revelation 3:14-22 |  Matthew 24:32-44‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is...

May you find poetry even in dark moments.

Home > Advent Blog 2023 May you find poetry even in dark moments.December 18, 2023 Zech. 1:7-17  |  Psalm 41  |  Psalm 53  |  Revelation 3:7-13  |  Matt. 24:15-31When you hear the word ‘Advent’, what do you think? If you’re like me, plenty of images spring to mind:...

Make Straight the Way of the Lord

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Make Straight the Way of the Lord December 17, 2023 Isaiah 61:1-4  8-11  |  Psalm 126  1  |  Thessalonians 5:16-24  |  John 1:6-8, 19-28A few weeks ago, I decided to begin a new project. It always seems that when I begin a new project,...

Bearing Witness

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Bearing Witness December 15, 2023 2 Kings 5:1-14  |  Psalm 96  |  Luke 13:10-17Today “Lesser Feasts and Fasts” invites us to reflect on the life of Nino, a fourth century missionary to the country of Georgia. Georgia was and is located at...

God’s Lullaby

Home > Advent Blog 2023 God’s Lullaby December 14, 2023 1 Kings 19:1-9  |  Psalm 121  |  John 16:12-221 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *       from where is my help to come?2 My help comes from the Lord, *       the maker of heaven and earth.3 He will not let your...

The True Light

Home > Advent Blog 2023 The True LightDecember 13, 2023 Revelation 19:5-8  |  Psalm 131  |  John 1:9-149″The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did...

Things That Matter

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Things That Matter December 12, 2023 I keep thinking about Jonathan’s sermon from Sunday, Nov. 26th. If you missed it, go to YouTube… Watch… Listen… REALLY LISTEN… I know… I know… Jonathan’s sermon wasn’t an ADVENT sermon… It wasn’t Advent...

Shepherding Community

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Shepherding Community December 11, 2023 1 Corinthians 1  |  Psalm 18:1-6, 18-20  |  John 10:11-18The themes of division and community thread through both 1st Corinthians and today’s Gospel. Today, as in long ago Corinth, we are all too...

Where do you find Peace?

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Where do you find Peace? December 10, 2023 Isaiah 40:1-11  |  Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13  |  2 Peter 3:8-15a  |  Mark 1:1-8Psalm: 85:8  “I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who...

A lot to think about…

Home > Advent Blog 2023 A lot to think about… December 9, 2023 Amos 5:18-27  |  Psalm 20-21  |  Jude 17-25  |  Matthew 22:15-22In the Amos reading, while this passage is about darkness rather than light, this is the verse that speaks to me: 24But let justice roll...

Hope and Grace

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Hope and Grace December 8, 2023 Isaiah 64:1-9   |  Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18  |   1 Corinthians 1:3-9  |  Mark 13:24-37My first reading of today’s selected scripture left me feeling a bit unsettled. I’m just not comfortable with all the anger and...

Having Faith

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Having Faith December 7, 2023 1Kings 21:17-29  |  Psalm 27:5-11  |  Luke 12:35-46After reading and re-reading the passages and psalm a couple things came to mind. One of the things is that being a person of any faith comes with a price. That...

Receive the Kingdom of God!

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Receive the Kingdom of God!December 6, 2023 1 John 4:7-14  |  Psalm 145:8-13  |  Mark 10:13-16I’ve been thinking a lot about little children these days. Not just because it’s the holiday season, in which we see all kinds of ads with and for...

Seeking Peace

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Seeking PeaceDecember 5, 2023 Psalm 34:9-14  |  Colossians 1:11-20  |  John 6:57-63Some days it is difficult to reconcile the scripture readings with what is happening in the world around us. Having lived through many tumultuous times you...

Oh, Happy Day!

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Oh, Happy Day! December 4, 2023 1 Corinthians 15:12-20  |  Psalm 118:14-21  |  John 5:24-27‘Confirm our minds, O Lord, in the mysteries of the true faith … that we, with him, confessing Jesus to be true God and true Man and singing the...

Do we need God?

Home > Advent Blog 2023 Do we need God? December 3, 2023 Isaiah 64:1-9  |  Psalm 80:1-7 1  |  Corinthians 1: 3-9  |  Mark 13:24-37It’s here! Again! The most wonderful time of the year! Again! Advent! A beginning! A time of anticipation! A time of preparation! A...

Easter Sunday Service, April 17, 2022

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Easter Sunday 4.17.22 Please enjoy this recording from last year’s Easter Sunday Service.We welcome you to join us for Sunday services at 7:45AM or 10:15AM throughout the Easter...

“Don’t you get me wrong. I only want to know.”*

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 “Don’t you get me wrong. I only want to know.”* April 8, 2023 (Click above photo to enlarge) Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24  |  Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16  |  1 Peter 4:1-8  |  Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42 Growing up a child of the...

Good Friday Taize Service 2022

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Good Friday Taizé Service 4.15.22 Please enjoy this recording from last year’s Good Friday Taizé Service.We welcome you to join us for tonight’s Taizé Service starting at...

“Do this in remembrance of me”

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 “Do this in remembrance of me”April 6, 2023  Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14  |  Psalm 116:1, 10-17  |  1 Corinthians 11:23-26  |  John 13:1-17, 31b-35Maundy Thursday is for me one of the most profound moments in the Christian calendar. It is,...

Have faith in God to be there for us.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Have faith in God to be there for us. April 5, 2023  Isaiah 50:4-9a  |  Psalm 70  |  Hebrews 12:1-3  |  John 13:21-32John’s Gospel for the Wednesday in Holy Week speaks of Jesus being troubled in spirit. He knows that one of his...

Bring Forth Justice to the Nations

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Bring Forth Justice to the Nations April 3, 2023  Isaiah 42:1-9  |  Psalm 36:5-11  |  Hebrews 9:11-15  |  John 12:1-11Isaiah tells us today about someone it’s taken me a while to get to know: God’s chosen servant “in whom [His/Her] soul...

Beloved is Where We Begin

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Beloved is Where We BeginApril 2, 2023  Isaiah 50:4-9a  |  Psalm 31:9-16  |  Philippians 2:5-11  |  Matthew 26:14- 27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54Lent is a time to examine and reflect, in the light of Christ’s values and our lives; anchoring our...

I Will Call Upon the Lord

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 I Will Call Upon the Lord March 31, 2023  Jeremiah 20:7–13 |  Psalm 18:1–7  |  John 10:31–42As I read through these scriptures, my first reaction was “Circle the wagons, we’re surrounded”.  When I finished laughing at myself I remembered a...

Abraham

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Abraham March 30, 2023  Genesis 17:1–8  |  Psalm 105:4–11  |  John 8:51–59Today’s readings from Genesis, Psalm 105, and John have a common focus: Abraham. Abraham is the patriarch of the Jewish people who Yahweh chose for a special...

Faithfulness

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 FaithfulnessMarch 29, 2023  Daniel 3:14–20,24–28 |  Canticle [2] or 13  |  John 8:31–42In the Old Testament reading, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego were challenged by King Nebuchnezzar who insisted they deny their faith and fall down and...

Goodness and Mercy shall follow us

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Goodness and Mercy shall follow usMarch 27, 2023  Susanna [1–9,15–29,34–40],41-62  |  Psalm 23  |  John 8:1–11  or John 8:12–20Today’s readings contain one of the most well known passages in Scripture, at least to my ears: Psalm 23. While I...

Now he knows.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Now he knows. March 26, 2023  Ezekiel 37:1-14  |  Psalm 130  |  Romans 8:6-11  |  John 11:1-45One of my early memories is of learning that a neighbor had died. I had passed the age of magical thinking, and I knew that we would no longer see...

Be grateful to God every day

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Be grateful to God every dayMarch 25, 2023  The Annunciation stain glass window in Taize. Photographer Kevin LloydIsaiah 7:10-14  |  Psalm 45 or Psalm 40:5-10 or Canticle 15 (or 3)  |  Hebrews 10:4-10  |  Luke 1:26-38We need to pour God’s...

More beautiful every time the LORD shines his light through it.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 More beautiful every time the LORD shines his light through it.March 24, 2023   Wisdom 2:1a,12–24  |  Psalm 34:15–22  |  John 7:1–2,10,25–30 Psalm 34:18             The LORD is near to the broken-hearted,                 and saves the...

Context

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 ContextMarch 22, 2023  Isaiah 49:8–15  |  Psalm 145:8–19  |  John 5:19–29The 274 words of the Gospel reading from John (5:19-29) really covers a huge amount of material and a lot of the basic fundamentals of Christianity. There is so much...

Fresh Water

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Fresh Water March 21, 2023  Dead SeaEzekiel 47:1–9,12  |  Psalm 46:1–8  |  John 5:1–18Definitions: Cubit = an ancient measure of length, approximately equal to the length of a forearm. It was typically about 18 inchesArabah = desert or...

The Lord is My Shepherd

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 The Lord is My Shepherd March 19, 2023  1 Samuel 16:1-13  |  Psalm 23  |  Ephesians 5:8-14  |  John 9:1-41Lent is a time when our focus tends to be on repentance, fasting, self-denial and meditation.  Combining that with the current events...

Perfection, Humility and the Pharisee Within

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Perfection, Humility and the Pharisee Within March 18, 2023  Dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees – Gustave DoréHosea 6:1–6  |  Psalm 51:15–20  |  Luke 18:9–14In the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, Jesus rebukes the grandiose,...

Loving With a Whole Heart

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Loving With a Whole HeartMarch 17, 2023  Hosea 14:1–9  |  Psalm 81:8–14  |  Mark 12:28–34I can’t quite believe I was assigned this reading. It is so very foundational to our faith. It’s what I’ve heard in my head – and in church – my whole...

Keeping Watch

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Keeping Watch March 16, 2023  Jeremiah 7:23–28  |  Psalm 95:6–11  |  Luke 11:14–23Collect for today:Keep watch over your Church, O Lord, with your unfailing love; and, since it is grounded in human weakness and cannot maintain itself without...

Keeping the Commandments of the Lord

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Keeping the Commandments of the Lord March 15, 2023  Deuteronomy 4:1–2,5–9  |  Psalm 78:1–6  |  Matthew 5:17–19Moses said “You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of...

Forgive from our heart.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Forgive from our heart. March 14, 2023  Song of the Three Young Men 2–4,11–20a  |  Psalm 25:3–10  |  Matthew 18:21–35The Gospel today, Matthew 18:21-35, is well-known, i.e.,Peter:  How many times should I forgive another who sins against...

What were you expecting?

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 What were you expecting? March 13, 2023  2 Kings 5:1–15b  |  Psalm 42:1–7  |  Luke 4:23–30The lessons assigned for today have me thinking about expectations, and how we react when things don’t go exactly as we had hoped.In the Hebrew...

I’m really thirsty, would you please give me a drink?

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 I’m really thirsty, would you please give me a drink?March 12, 2023   Exodus 17:1-7  |  Psalm 95  |  Romans 5:1-11  |  John 4:5-42 Reading Scripture has been an exciting and interesting exploration for me ever since I was a little girl and...

The Real Emotional Reflections of The Prodigal Son

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 The Real Emotional Reflections of The Prodigal SonMarch 11, 2023 Micah 7:14–15,18–20  |  Psalm 103:1–4(5–8)9–12  |  Luke 15:11–32I would wager that many of us with siblings have felt a sense of discomfort when absorbing the story of the...

What is your cornerstone?

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 What is your cornerstone? March 10, 2023 Genesis 37:3–4,12–28  |  Psalm 105:16–22  |  Matthew 21:33–43“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”– Matthew 21:42Cornerstones are a most important building element. We see...

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” March 9, 2023 Jeremiah 17:5–10  |  Psalm 1  |  Luke 16:19–31Today’s readings provide us stories of good versus evil. I dare say such battles, whether external or internal, are in our DNA....

The Lord is always there for us.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 The Lord is always there for us.March 8, 2023  Jeremiah 18:1–11,18–20  |  Psalm 31:9–16  |  Matthew 20:17–28Psalm 319 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;my eyes grow weak with sorrow,my soul and body with grief.10 My life is...

We need to roll up our sleeves and do the work.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 We need to roll up our sleeves and do the work. March 7, 2023 Isaiah 1:2–4,16–20  |  Psalm 50:7–15,22–24  |  Matthew 23:1–12As a person who identified as “agnostic” in my early twenties, part of my rejection of religion came from my...

Make room for love

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Make room for love March 6, 2023 Daniel 9:3–10  |  Psalm 79:1–9  |  Luke 6:27–38In Luke 6:27-38, Jesus gives us one of the hardest and seemingly contradictory directives in all of scripture:  Love your enemies.   This is not one of those...

“Blessed Assurance”

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 “Blessed Assurance” March 5, 2023 Genesis 12:1-4a  |  Psalm 121  |  Romans 4:1-5, 13-17  |  John 3:1-17The appointed lessons, Psalm and Gospel readings for this Second Sunday in Lent are laden with profound promises, possibilities and...

For this I say “Hallelujah”.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 For this I say “Hallelujah”.March 4, 2023 Deuteronomy 26:16–19  |  Psalm 119:1–8  |  Matthew 5:43–48 The verses in Deuteronomy and the preceding chapters contain numerous laws and statutes that God gave to the Israelites to be obeyed when...

“The way of the Lord is unfair…”

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 “The way of the Lord is unfair…” March 3, 2023 Ezekiel 18:21–28  |  Psalm 130  |  Matthew 5:20–26Ezekiel 18:19 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair” Hear now, O house of Israel, Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are...

Ask . . . And Give Thanks

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Ask… And Give Thanks March 2, 2023 Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1–6,12–14  |  Psalm 138  |  Matthew 7:7–12Queen Esther was an Israelite woman living in Persia, married to King Xerxes. Orphaned as a child, she was raised by her uncle,...

All is Well…even when it is not.

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 All is Well…even when it is not.March 1, 2023 Jonah 3:1–10  |  Psalm 51:11–18  |  Luke 11:29–32 Luke 11:29And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no...

Teaching Me A Lot About Love

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Teaching Me A Lot About Love February 28, 2023 Isaiah 55:6–11 |  Psalm 34:15–22  |  Matthew 6:7–15Sheep: I’ve long not been fond of biblical references to those feeble-minded and easily-led-astray animals.  The Good Shepherd’s sheep, I’m...

Who is responsible?

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Who is responsible?February 26, 2023 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7  |  Psalm 32  |  Matthew 4:1-11  |  Romans 5:12-19When I read the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden for today’s blog, I groaned. The profoundly destructive influence this story...

Living in the Light

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Living in the Light February 25, 2023 Isaiah 58:9b-14  |  Psalm 86:1-11  |  Luke 5:27-32Two things came into my focus as I read these readings. The first being the Isaiah passage: “The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs...

Beatus vir qui non abiit

Home > Lenten Blog 2023 Beatus vir qui non abiit February 23, 2023 Deuteronomy 30:15-20  |  Psalm 1  |  Luke 9:18-25Reading and comprehending scripture is usually a challenge for me, I often find myself confused and overwhelmed. I find it difficult to understand...

Finding Joy in Victory and Salvation

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Promise! December 24, 2022 Isaiah 52: 7-10 | Psalm 98 | Hebrews 1:1-4 | John 1:1-14 It is December 25! We made it! You know the story that we are celebrating on this very day. Maybe you spent time with the passage from Matthew which mentions...

Promise!

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Promise!December 24, 2022 Isaiah 35:1-10 | Revelation 22:12-17,21 | Luke 1:67-80So . . .  it is finally Christmas Eve! It is full of promise of Who is to come. We read and remember that God has promised to lead His people, to protect them. ...

Being the Light and Love of Christ

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Being the Light and Love of ChristDecember 23, 2022 Isaiah 33:17-22 | Revelation 22:6-11 | Luke 1:57-66Last Saturday morning St. Luke’s was bustling with activity. Folks were in the food pantry organizing the offerings there, the choir was...

My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Home > Advent Blog 2022 My Soul Magnifies the LordDecember 22, 2022 Isaiah 29:13-24 | Revelation 21:22-22:5 | Luke 1:39-56 Not being a Biblical scholar, I’m on shaky ground when I claim that nowhere else in the Good Book has an angel of the Lord spoken directly to...

Life’s Cornerstones

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Life’s CornerstonesDecember 21, 2022 Isaiah 28:9-22 | Revelation 21:9-21 | Luke 1:26-38 Therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts...

Serve in moving God’s purpose forward.

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Serve in moving God’s purpose forward.December 20, 2022 Isaiah 11:10-16 | Revelation 20:11-21:8 | Luke 1:5-25When Zechariah entered the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense, he was at a hinge of history and did not know it. Everything was going...

Each stump becomes an altar of transformation.

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Each stump becomes an altar of transformation. December 19, 2022 Isaiah 11:1-9 | Revelation 20:1-10 | John 5:30-47During the bleak days of Covid, my husband coped by realizing a new purpose in life. Our home on a river, was visible only...

Emmanuel – God is with us.

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Emmanuel – God is with us. December 18, 2022  Isaiah 7:10-16 | Romans 1:1-7 | Matthew 1:18-25That’s really all we need to know. It’s so elemental that it strips away everything else. We first hear about “Immanuel” in the Old Testament...

So, what do you do to inspire people to follow God?

Home > Advent Blog 2022 So, what do you do to inspire people to follow God?December 17, 2022 Isaiah 10:20-27 | Jude 17-25 | Luke 3:1-9 Some may say that they don’t know how to help other people. But I think that everyone can help others find themselves and God.In...

Glass half empty?

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Glass half empty? December 16, 2022 Emma Walsh, one of 15 St. Luke’s Episcopal Church young adult missioners, building a church on the grounds of Campamento Monte De La Transfiguracion, Jarabacoa, República Dominicana, February, 2006.Isaiah...

Take Jesus‘ hand this Advent

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Take Jesus‘ hand this Advent December 15, 2022 IsaIah 9:18-10:4 | 2 Peter 2:10b-16 | Matthew 3:1-12For all this, his anger has not turned away; His hand is stretched out still.The Isaiah passage could have been written yesterday, so apt are...

“It does not matter how small…”

Home > Advent Blog 2022 “It does not matter how small…”December 14, 2022 Isaiah 9:8-17 | 2 Peter 2:1-10a | Mark 1:1-8 Yikes, what readings today, false prophets, cities falling, thankfully followed by John’s message of hope. I am about to invite your company...

”I Believe.“

Home > Advent Blog 2022 ”I Believe.“December 13, 2022  Today’s New Testament lesson shares the story of Jesus being mocked and beaten by the authorities. They are trying to trick him & get him to admit what they want to hear.But one of Jesus’...

I Will Hope in Him

Home > Advent Blog 2022 I Will Hope in Him December 12, 2022 Isaiah 8:16-9:1; 2 Peter 1:1-11; Luke 22:39-53 And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. – Isaiah 8:17 I don’t really think God hides His face from...

Be patient…really? How much longer?

Home > Advent Blog 2022 Be patient…really? How much longer?December 11, 2022 Isaiah 35:1-10 | James 5:7-10 | Matthew 11:2-11Over the years, I’ve grown to love Advent and its call to us for anticipatory waiting, though it hasn’t always been that way. “Getting things...