Uncategorized (Page 65)

God of New Life, You reach to us in love and lure us toward peace with justice.  We pray this day for those who long for Sabbath amidst the rush of ordinary life, for those who long for healing & reconciliation with family and friends, for those who grieve the tragic loss of loved ones. We give thanks for the transformation taking place in our community, both physical and spiritual.  We give thanks for those who will take next steps…

We begin a new four-week worship series this Sunday called Reaching in Love (an August Remix). Our worship this Sunday will be rooted in Matthew 14.22-33.  Spend some time with the story this morning. Who in your life has embodied and modeled “courageous” faith? When have you found yourself “sinking” from all your commitments to reach in love?  Have you ever experienced God’s embrace in the midst of the “sinking” experience? For those in Kitchen Tables, what questions or concerns emerged in…

We begin a new four-week worship series, Reaching in Love (An August Remix), this Sunday. Reach in Love (an August Remix) will revisit themes from our July worship series. We’ll go deeper in discernment and continue reflecting on how we reach in love to our neighbors far and near. August 7:  The Standard | Jesus August 14:  Solo | Reaching in Love as Individuals August 21:  Combo| Reaching in Love as Kitchen Tables August 28:  Big Band | Reaching in…

Barbara Brown Taylor writes, One thing that all four writers included in their gospels is the story about the miraculous feeding of the five thousand.  It was too important a story to leave out – too important in the life of Jesus and too important in the life of the church.  It was a story about Jesus’ ability to provide for their needs, and not only for their spiritual needs but for their human needs as well.  When they were…

Jesus looked at things “differently.”  Where the disciples saw scarcity, Jesus saw abundance.  Where they saw not enough, he saw plenty.  He saw plenty of time, plenty of food and plenty of possibilities with the resources at hand.  Not that he knew how it was going to work out exactly —-but what Jesus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that wherever there was plenty of God there would be plenty of everything else. How do you feel that…

Worship this Sunday will be rooted in the story of loaves and fishes in Matthew 14.13-21.  Here is a link to the text. Think of a time in your life when you were surrounded by human need.  Invite each person to share as they feel led about the experience.  You might ask them to consider:  Describe the context in which you encountered the need.  How did you feel?  How did others respond?  How did you respond? If someone were to…

Our worship series, Reaching in Love, ended on Sunday with a powerful message on the parable of the treasure in the field.  The podcast should be up on the website later today. God of Healing and Hope, We pray for the families who lost loved ones in Norway.  May your tears wash over those who grieve.  Hold them in your love and enfold them in your healing.  We pray for those in our own community who have experienced hurt and…

In John 1:38 Jesus asks two of John’s disciples what they are looking for and invites them to come and see where and how he lives. The desire to know and be near to God has been placed within us as an invitation to a lifelong quest. Sometimes we search in the wrong places. Jesus directed the disciples to follow me. Where are the places you have searched for Jesus and come up short? Where are the places you have…

What has your attention at this very moment?  This blog? Maybe, but we all know our skills at multi-tasking.  We eat, read, listen for our phones all at the same time.  When our search for something consumes all our energy and all our faculties, everything else fades away and disappears.  Even a ringing phone goes unanswered when we are seeking to give our attention to something deep and important.  What are you searching for that consumes all your energy and…

We will reflect on the treasure buried in the field this Sunday in worship as we conclude our Reaching in Love worship series. Frederick Buechner writes, For all it’s horrors, the world is not ultimately a horror show, because, as Jesus tells us, the world has the Kingdom buried in it like a treasure buried in a field, like leaven working in dough….The question is how is it possible for us not just to glimpse that buried kingdom but to…

We conclude our worship series, Reaching in Love, this Sunday.  Worship will be rooted in Matthew 13:44:  The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Frederick Buechner writes, All his life long, wherever Jesus looked, he saw the world not in terms simply of its brokenness – a patchwork of light and dark calling forth in…

We spent time in prayer in worship yesterday reflecting on how God might be calling us to witness and to reach in love “to the ends of the earth.”  A recording of the message is on our Podcast.  Click here to listen.  How might God be stirring your heart to reach in love this day? God of All Creation, we give thanks for those who are traveling this week in service to others, we celebrate those who are taking first…