My sermon text this past Sunday was the gospel reading from the Lectionary: Matthew 5:1-12, a.k.a. The Beatitudes. As I read and studied this passage last week, Jesus’ familiar words struck me in a new way. Where previously I had read judgement for all of the ways I fall short–of poverty of spirit, of meekness,…
The “blog challenge” on RevGalPals today is to write about your five favorite Bible verses. And those who have posted their responses hit on all kinds of beautiful, heart-warming, challenging, encouraging passages of scripture. I’ve appreciated being reminded of the many words of love and hope contained in the Bible. But I’ll be honest here.…
So after I posted the prayer of confession this morning I dug into the text (Matthew 5:1-12) and read several blogs and articles about the Beatitudes. I now realize that I got it wrong. Jesus does not call us to do all of that stuff in the Beatitudes. Jesus pronounces blessing on those for whom…
This is a responsive prayer of confession based on Matthew 5:1-12. The assurance of pardon is based on 1 Corinthians 1:30. The intent is that the leader speaks the plain text and the congregation speaks the bold. Italicized words are for all. Prayer of Confession Gracious God, we come before you to confess that we…
Monday morning I attended the first session of my collage class, taught by the wonderful artist Lora Jost. There were only three students, and at the end of the session, we each showed and explained the collages we had made. One of my fellow students, a 20-something guy, explained that the small man in his…
It started a few months ago with the infamous line from my 7th grade daughter: “Mom, everyone else at school . . .”. In this particular instance, she was informing me that everyone else had a cell phone. “Laura doesn’t,” I said. “Yes she does. She got one last week.” “Well . . . your…
Writing words for liturgy is one of the joys of my life. I often write (or heavily adapt) calls to worship, prayers, even the occasional hymn, for the Sunday morning worship services at Peace Mennonite. It’s partly that I love to write them, and partly that I’m pretty picky and often can’t find the perfect…
Yesterday was a snow day, and a couple of the church kids came over to play. During a conversation with the six-year-old, he told me about one of his parents’ friends who was “really old–probably fifty.” So I said, “My birthday is tomorrow. How old do you think I will be?” He tilted his head…
I know. I know. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). But I have to be honest. I’ve had my doubts about Paul. “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands” (Ephesians 5:22). “Women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Corinthians 14:34). “I do not…
I want to express my appreciation to the Southern Poverty Law Center for adding the Family Research Council and American Family Association to their list of hate groups to monitor. Whether or not one agrees with an individual’s choice of sexual partner, there is no excuse for spreading malicious misinformation about an entire group of…
Spacious Faith 