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In Brian McLaren’s book, We Make the Road by Walking, we read Chapter 26 this week. In the chapter, McLaren relates a fictitious conversation between himself and one of Jesus’ followers, a woman on the edges of the crowd. He asks her if she ever has doubts about Jesus’ message. She replies, Sometimes I think […]

This Sunday we read together Chapter 31 in Brian McLaren’s book this week in which he explores Jesus’ famous sermon and translates it into modern language. One line in McLaren’s version, “Dare to be a nonconformist by being boldly different, like salt and light in the world. Demonstrate your differentness through works of generosity and […]

As I write this, the snow is coming down outside and it’s been coming down for almost 24 hours. The kids and dogs in the park are having a great time and my snowy-day instincts are kicking in. I grew up mostly in Idaho and Iowa. I lived for my young adult years in Chicago. […]

Jesus was no mathematician. Jesus helped us to understand the nature of God in relationship, as one person of the Trinity, one part of a triune God. One in three and three in one doesn’t make sense according to our normal number sense. It only makes sense within the nature of God. Jesus’ teachings are […]

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  There it is right in the Lord’s Prayer.  We do not live without sustenance. Is food then a human right? How then do so many go hungry in the world’s richest country? Jesus said those words before the Last Supper, when he forever transformed the meaning of bread […]

This Sunday is Bible Sunday where we will give Bibles to our 3-4th graders. It’s also the week in our Foundations of Faith when we will talk about the Bible as Foundational. In each service, a congregation member will share a favorite Bible passage and explain why it is foundational for them. We’ll also think about […]

We’ve just celebrated the coming of the Christ Child. We have welcomed the gifts of the God-made-Human baby in our midst. And now we hear these words from the book of Matthew, that the baby grew up and told us to become like a child. Different from being childish or being a baby about things, […]

This Sunday is the fourth week of Advent. It seems like it’s Christmas already but we have one more Sunday of preparing the way. There’s one more Sunday in our season of walking slowly, deliberately, and spiritually, or of being reminded of the invitation to slow down. Since Pastor Brad will not be with us, […]

This year, as we prepare for Christmas, we will focus on preparing ourselves and our church for the coming of the Christ child among us one more time. We read the ancient words from Isaiah, quoted by the gospel writers: A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in […]

I visited Lazy F for the first time ever last weekend. I know that must seem crazy to some of you, but I had never been before. I got to see the cross way up on the hill, marvel at the new dining hall, meet Sam and Mazy, the dogs, and give thanks for the […]