Pentecost 13, August 30, 2020

I read something the other day that stopped me in my tracks.  This simple reminder: “Be teachable.  You’re not always right.”  That felt to me like something, if I remembered it, that could be life-changing.  “Be teachable.”

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Pentecost 12, August 23, 2020

How do we keep the faith during a pandemic?  How do keep our hopes up?  How do we even dare to think about a prosperous, productive future?  Or even a normal one?  I remember when we had our first live stream worship on March 17 – a Lenten Evening Prayer service.  And afterwards I nervously thought:  “We might have to do this for a few weeks!”  I love being here at the park with you today, but after 5 months I long for things they way they were and still not sure when that will be.  You’ve had your own disappointments and fears and adjustments to deal with.  Not the least of which for many of you has to do with returning to school – as students and teachers – or worrying about kids and grandkids heading back to the classroom or dorm room.  It’s all a bit unnerving and these changes challenge us to muster the courage and perseverance needed to keep moving forward.  Honestly, it’s sometimes more than we can handle.

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Pentecost 11, August 16, 2020

 

There is a rule in our house that the dog does not eat people food.  Especially from the table.  Most family members follow this rule.  But there are a couple of us who don’t always comply.  If there’s anyone who’s going to slip him a little something, it might be me.  So Ribsy always sits on the floor next to me at mealtimes.  Like my best friend.  When it comes to his stomach he has a very good memory.  He knows I’m his best chance – perhaps his only hope – for a morsel at mealtime.  So he watches me while I eat.  Perhaps I will hand him a nibble.  When I pop popcorn he KNOWS some will escape on to the floor so he sits right at my feet.  And he is there to snatch it up.  You might say Ribsy has great faith in his master.  He holds out for whatever he can get.  And he trusts that something will spill over.

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Pentecost 10, August 9, 2020

There’s a big difference between good advice and good news.

 

One is a suggestion for you to do something.  The other is an announcement of something already done.

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Pentecost 9, August 2, 2020

The Bible contains four Gospels – stories of Jesus’ life — that tells us about the ministry of Jesus on earth.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  They are each unique proclamations of the good news of Jesus.  And each chooses to tell the story of Jesus from unique perspective and each includes unique details.  They each tell us about Jesus’ death and resurrection – the most important parts of the Jesus story.  But there are only a handful of other stories about Jesus’ life that all 4 include. And only one miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all four.  It is the story in our Gospel for today. What we generally call the Feeding of the 5000.

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Pentecost 8, July 26, 2020

This last week 14 of us participated in our own Hometown Mission here at Grace of God.  Since our regular YouthWorks trip to Nashville got cancelled because of the pandemic, we decided to organize our OWN mission trip right here in our own community.  It went really well, although there was one big challenge.

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