Easter 2018
Forth he came at Easter like the risen grain, he that for three days in the grave had lain; raised from the dead, my living Lord is seen; love is come again like wheat arising green. (— Text from Oxford Book of Carols, © Oxford University Press 1928. All rights...
Reading the Bible in a Year Update
Find The Reading Calendar In The Entryway Or Online One month down, you guys! One month down. And, there are a few things we now need to talk about. Let’s say you followed the plan for awhile and you were feeling really proud of yourself; then life got in the way and...
From Your Pastoral Team: March 2018
From Pastor Steve: Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey; I’ll tell everyday about you wherever I go: you alone are our life and our peace and our love. Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.—ELW 808 Last October, I shared the following about my mom’s...
10 Things in 2017
Help us celebrate our church accomplishments in 2017: 73 5th-12th graders participated in Daycamp, Young Life camp, or the San Francisco mission trip. 500th anniversary of the Reformation was celebrated throughout the year, culminating in a Sunday series, "The Rose...
From Your Pastoral Team: February 2018
From Pastor Steve “It is central in the biblical tradition that God’s love for his people should not be forgotten. It should remain with us in the present. When everything is dark, when we are surrounded by despairing voices, when we do not see any exits, then we can...
My Favorite Reads & Recommendations from 2017
Here is a too-brief listing of my favorite books read in 2017. As your pastor, I encourage you to read (or listen to) at least one book every month. Too much of our intellectual input these days comes from headlines, tweets, news flashes, and snap judgments. So many...
From Your Pastoral Team: The 12 Days of Christmas
"In the hopeless time of sin, shadows deep had fallen. All the world lay under death. Eyes were closed in sleeping. But, when all seemed lost in night, came the sun whose golden light brings unending joy, brings the endless joy of our hope, highest hope, of our hope's...
Choose A Star
For the third year, we are going to undertake the spiritual practice of receiving a StarWord. On January 7, during worship you will be invited to come forward to choose a star with your guiding word for the year. You can let the Spirit do her work and with eyes closed...
Communication Breakdowns and Breakthroughs
"Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” Hebrews 1:1-2 “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his...
Needs vs. Wants
This time of year brings forward the concept of wants vs. needs. I remember as a child when the Sears Christmas catalog would arrive and I’m pretty sure I wanted just about everything in that catalog. I would look through the pages over and over to make sure I didn’t...
How Luther Sparked the Reformation
We have been celebrating the 500th anniversary of Luther’s posting of the 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door, October 31, 1517. At the time, Luther had no idea this would be the spark to light the reformation of the church. April 18, 1521 was a day of greater...
From Your Pastoral Team: Exploring the Five “Solas” of the Reformation
October 31, 2017, marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. We are in the middle of a sermon series that is exploring the five “solas” of the reformation: Prior Sundays: Solus Christus...