Posts from November 2023

Introduction This week we begin a four-week journey of Advent called Road Trip. What is Advent? I’m glad you asked! Have you ever eagerly awaited something, counting down the days, preparing, and getting more excited as the time approaches? That’s the spirit of Advent! It’s the time leading up to Christmas where we eagerly wait and prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. It’s about anticipating the joy, hope, and love that Jesus brings into our world. During…

We conclude our 3-week series on gratitude called Our Hymn of Grateful Praise exploring the essential nature of gratitude in our lives and in our faith. The text this week is familiar. The story of the feeding of the five thousand is in all four Gospels, though some of the details are different—including the number of people who share in the meal together! And in three of the Gospels, it is linked to the story of Jesus walking on water—also…

We continue our 3-week series on gratitude called Our Hymn of Grateful Praise exploring the essential nature of gratitude in our lives and in our faith. The opening verse this week is, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Consider someone in your life who acts this way. Perhaps it’s someone who is always happy or always celebrating or always filled with joy. This doesn’t mean, even as we approach Thanksgiving, that there isn’t room for grief…

This week we begin a new 3-week series on gratitude called Our Hymn of Grateful Praise. Through these few weeks, we will explore the essential nature of gratitude in our lives and in our faith. This first Sunday, we begin with a psalm of thanks (at least according to the heading in my Bible). I think expressing gratitude is essential for us, and sometimes I wonder if we have lost that practice. I’m sure I’ve spoken before about how terrible…