Life Is Better Together
“…when God’s Son took on flesh, he truly and bodily took on, out of pure grace, our being, our nature, ourselves. This was the eternal counsel of the triune God. Now we are in him. Where he is, there we are too, in the incarnation, on the Cross, and in his...
O Come, O Come, Emmanu-Adam
“…and they shall name him ‘Emmanu-el,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’” ~Matthew 1:23b Now that the Welch family has made the switch to an artificial Christmas Tree, our tree will have no trouble making it to Epiphany, January 6, the 12th day of Christmas. In previous...
Baptism
Since the start of my ministry, I have collected pictures with the people I have baptized. I was inspired by a doctor who had a wall full of pictures of children he had delivered over the years. I made the mistake of not writing the names of the children on the back...
Purposeful Decisions
From Bethesda’s Administrative Coordinator, Amy Weinkauf This year, as my family sat around the table for our traditional Christmas Eve meal, we commented how much we had enjoyed the Advent season. When was the last time we felt that way? We paused for a moment trying...
Walking Backward to Bethlehem
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” ~Galatians 4:4-5 I’ve been teaching through Chad Bird’s wonderful book on...
Life Together
“The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer Life Together I’ve been...
The Prophet Of The Most High
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways...- Luke 1:76 The above line is the first words of a solo that the leader sings when leading the Gospel Canticle in the Matins service in the LBW. Many...
Christ the King Sunday
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”—Revelation 1:8 This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Church year. It is called “Christ the King Sunday” or as others call it “Reign of Christ Sunday”. It’s a...
Little Red Riding Hood Goes to Jerusalem
One holiday a little northern country girl set out for God's house in the capital city. With a basket of offerings in hand, she skipped through packed streets and marveled at the grandeur of the buildings. She thought to herself, "If a city can be this magnificent,...
All Are One In Thee, For All Are Thine
Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia! Alleluia!—from For All the Saints, v.3 Anyone else feel like they are “feebly struggling” some days? As always, people are...
Blessed Assurance
How sure is your salvation and God’s pleasure in you? Well, how sure and pleasing is Christ, sitting at the Father’s right hand? I recently attended my favorite conference for the third time. The organization named “1517” exists to “declare and defend the Good News...
All Saints Day
The First of November is All Saints Day. And on this day, we remember all who have gone before us and all who have shaped the people that we are. In our tradition, we also recognize that all of the baptized are saints. In our worship this Sunday, we will remember the...