StarWords
For the second year, we are going to undertake the spiritual practice of receiving a StarWord. On January 8, 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...
What Have We To Offer? What Have We To Share?
Often, in the fall, we spend some time focused on stewardship. This probably made the most sense when the majority of people were working in industries related to farming. The fall is the time of the harvest and it is easy to make connections to the “first fruits” of...
Seasons Change…Give Thanks
“In the just reward of labor, God’s will is done. In the help we give our neighbor, God’s will is done. In our world-wide task of caring for the hungry and despairing, in the harvest we are sharing, God’s will is done.” —ELW 679 v2 As fall begins, something seems to...
Loving Our Neighbors
I want to tell you about a girl, who grew up in this church. She learned a lot of awesome stuff from many of you and some of your parents and grandparents. She didn't know it at the time but from you she learned that service is very important and because of those...
Electing God
At her founding, the United States of America was unique among the nations of the world. Here, unlike anywhere else, traditional Christianity synthesized with republican political thought. We take this merger for granted today, because the concept of liberty is so...
A New Experiment
As you bring your children to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities: to live with them among God's faithful people, bring them to the word of God and the holy supper, teach them the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,...
We Are The Lord’s
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.”—Psalm 24:1-2 As summer is drawing to a close, I hope that you have had some time to enjoy God’s beautiful...
What Would the Neighborhood Do or Be if Bethesda Wasn’t Here?
We’ve had some interesting moments in our park over the past few weeks. We’ve had countless people wandering through the park playing Pokemon Go. We even have a “gym” located on the property as part of the game. (I would explain what this means but the truth is I...
A Month of Sundays
Only four weeks left…four weeks left of summer BBQs and lazy days on the river; four weeks left of kids running in the sprinkler and cool evening hikes up Spencer’s Butte; four weeks left of family vacations and watermelon rinds tossed in the bushes; four weeks...
The BFG and the Gospel
The 5th/6th Grade Wildkids Day Camp theme was The BFG. As with the giants of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, we at times believe God to be… Ancient and Enormous (un-relatable) Otherworldly (not usually around) Undetectable (only in our dreams?) Frightening (man-eating?)...
Graveling Before the Lord
“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”...
I Believe in the Holy Spirit – God the Mobile Divine
There’s no question most young people are closely connected to their mobile devices. This is true of many adults as well. Sometimes my leg twitches even when my phone is not in my pocket. That’s a sign of addiction. At Confirmation, we have been thinking about many of...