Main Text: John 14:23-29 (Acts 16:9-15; Revelation 21:10, 22:1-5) When someone tells you not to fear, how does that make you feel? Fear is a natural human reaction. The way we often address fear is to control the environment around us. We convince ourselves that we are safe by surrounding us with people that we…
Main Text: Acts 11:1-18 (Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35) One of the things that often keeps us from witnessing is our fear of what to say. It can be an antagonistic world in which to share your experience of faith. It is hard enough sharing our witness with fellow believers. Peter is facing criticism from his…
Main Text: Revelation 7:9-17 (Acts 9:36-43; John 10:22-30) Only humans have the ability to look beyond the present. All other creatures can only operate in the present tense. Humans alone are able to imagine. Imagination has received a bad name in the age of reason and science. We tend to only believe what we can…
Main Text: John 21:1-19 (Acts 9:1-6 (7-20); Revelation 5:11-14) Witnessing is not a passive activity. It requires relationship and risk. Moving from “I have seen the Lord!” to “Follow me” is a journey. This story from John’s gospel comes after they have already seen the Lord in the locked room. Peter and the others find…
Main Text: John 20:19-21 (Acts 5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8) Thomas was not with them when they encountered the resurrected Lord. We are not told where he was, but only that when others told him that they had seen the Lord he would not believe. He had lost his relationship with Jesus when he died on the…
Overall Theme: A witness is “a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident take place.” The scripture calls us to witness to the mighty acts of love, but we were not there on that Easter morning. How can we be witnesses to what we did not see? We were not there when…
Main Text: Luke 24:1-12 (Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26) John’s portrayal of that Easter morning has Mary Magdalene pronouncing boldly to the disciples all gathered in fear, “I have seen the Lord.” In Mark’s gospel it has the women leaving the tomb and telling no one because of fear. This appears to be the evangelism…
Text: Farewell Discourse of Jesus in John 14-17 (Excerpts) We have been exploring how we take the gifts of the past and the present and exchange them for the future. How do we prepare for God doing something new? As we celebrate the institution of the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of the story of…
Text: Journey of the Cross – Tennebrae Service When we hear Jesus say “it is finished”, it would be easy to think that this was the end. This word from the cross, however, was not the last words he spoke. The key words from the cross are his last words. “Into your hands, I commend…
Text: Luke 19:28-40 (Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 23:1-49) 1 Timothy 6:10 says “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money has no value or life except what we give it. The only real value of money is its usefulness in exchanging it. This can be seen in the story…
Text: Phillipians 3:4b-14 (Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8) Wellness is not a state of being as much as a constant seeking of balance on the journey. We do not achieve wellness as much as maintain it. Anyone who has lived long enough knows this to be true. As we move through time and space, everything changes.…
Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 (Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21) There is a difference between skeptical and cynical. Skeptical is someone who looks at something with wonder and questions. Cynical is someone who already knows and only takes in what supports their solidly established belief. There is way too much cynicism when it comes to the…