tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73252788859625732432024-12-20T18:14:27.040-05:00Always: Curious dad blessed with 3 daughters looking at the world through a Lectionary lens. Sometimes: Lutheran Preacher in Minnesota on the Edge in the Mid-Western Prairie and the Hiawatha Valley reading scripture and loving life. Often a new post every week for the following Sunday's scriptures.John, an unlikely pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03688838648252031328noreply@blogger.comBlogger449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325278885962573243.post-87042657297134200272024-02-05T13:39:00.002-05:002024-02-05T13:39:17.548-05:00

Mark tells this great story in Mark 9:1-9,Jesus and three friends went up on top of a mountain. Four men walked up to this mountain top. And on the mountain time Jesus was different. His clothes, his appearance, everything changed. His three friends were still the same; but now they were surrounded by the glory of God. Two heroes of the people, Elijah and Moses, showed up on that mountain

John, an unlikely pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03688838648252031328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325278885962573243.post-29881560261007501722023-06-06T11:01:00.001-04:002023-06-06T11:01:04.273-04:00

Psalm 8 invites us to consider God's glory and God’s concern with us and our lives.  The writer, said to be King David, starts out exclaiming that God's name all by itself is majestic.   This psalm sings out celebrating God's glory.  Truth is God's greater than any human experience.  God's reign even more awesome even than the heavens.  The works of

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 2000 years ago preacher named Paul spoke to a church in Corinth. Corinth was located West of Athens. It was at the heart of so much life in what we today call the Greek islands.  Corinth was a seaport a cosmopolitan city, and a trading center that pulled in commerce from all over the Mediterranean world—and beyond.Paul was writing to a very new church in this city; he was writing to a

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 Entertaining Angels?It’s been said, by more than one person, that humility and hospitality are basic Christian virtues.  Luke tells us Jesus spoke about humility and hospitality while eating with a Pharisee one Sabbath day.  (look up Luke 14:1-14)The meal started with what feels like an interruption.  A man showed up with legs swollen by edema.  Jesus asked the Pharisees

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The story of Easter started at an unexpected hour: early on a Sunday Morning.  God often makes new life happen at unexpected times.  Truth is God can do the very most with us when we either aren't expecting something new to happen or aren't able to do anything new by ourselves.  Easter happened.  New life broke in.  Jesus' grave stood wide open.  Some women

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Where did Jesus go?The gospel of Luke ends with cliff-hanger Luke 24:50-52.  Jesus left his friends--but he didn't abandon them.  He went away promising they would forever be in touch.  Before he withdrew and was carried up into heaven Jesus had so much to say to his friends.  He talked about the promises that had been fulfilled, promises that had been shared by Moses, the

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God’s in the interruptions… I've been looking at the story Last Supper. There are all these ways that God showed up that night and above all I see that God showed up in the interruptions. There was a rhythm and a plan that Jesus’ people had during the Passover supper. The plan for the night was all laid out. The Passover meal was supposed to go on just like it had been for generations. The

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Okay So it’s been a year now that we’ve been living with this pandemic.  It’s been 12 month of new challenges and slivers of hope. And as we come towards Easter this year I see a part of the story in a new light—Jesus had a focus—a purpose that guided him.  He came to be the savior.  And Jesus wasn’t about to be turned away or distracted from that God given purpose.  This

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How do you imagine Jesus and his first followers? As a kid I read picture story books in which it was easy to tell Jesus and his followers apart from everybody else.  In so many of these book Jesus had a halo over his head—and sometimes his followers the disciples did too.  Jesus portrayed on these pages absolutely glowed.   In some churches I went to as a kid there were

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 There are so many ways that we choose to communicate. In our day and age we can communicate by phone, email text, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, good old fashioned pen and paper letters, or even just a face to face conversation. Over the years God has tried to communicate with humanity. The one of the ways God has reached into our lives and tried to

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Jesus had a lot to say about the kingdom of God. And it was throught his parables helped people glimpse the way God's kingdom is moving into our world. These parables about the kingdom open us up to see just some of the possiblities God has in store. Jesus talked about the power of tiny seeds when he talked about the kingdom. He talked about the way little light can change the way we see the

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How do you talk about something as big as the kingdom of heaven. Superlative words like awesome and wonderful come to mind. But Jesus put emphasis in a different direction when he spoke about the kingdom of heaven. Matthew tells the story 31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all

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This one Sunday started with a donkey and a parade. Jesus was coming to Jerusalem and the word on the street was Hosanna. This year with Covid19 we won't have parades or processions. We won't even be able to gather together in one place to worship. Make no mistake, we will still be church. We will still be Jesus' body in the world; but worship will happen in our homes. Worship will happen

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There are a few basics to have in mind about Jesus' story. Jesus was on earth with a purpose—it's clear in the gospel of John that he was here for a reason. He came to live—to heal and teach bringing the kingdom of God with him every where he went. But there was going to be so much more to his story than just living and teaching in his story. He came to die and to rise breaking the power of

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Early in his ministry as the crowds started to gather Jesus went up on a mountaintop to speak to his people. He spoke to this crowd of fishermen, farmers, villagers, and peasants about their true identity in Christ. He said something so audacious. He said, You are salt--you are light. His words were more than just audacious--his words were full of hope and purpose. He spoke to the people

John, an unlikely pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03688838648252031328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325278885962573243.post-38016867247132577392019-11-21T13:23:00.006-05:002019-11-21T13:23:51.292-05:00

Is this a good time to start talking about Christmas? I know Christmas is still 30 something days away--but maybe, as some folks have decorations up, its helpful to hear the Good News that Christmas is a story of God coming to meet us, to love us, to heal us, and above all to be the king who would die for us. It's good to hear the story and know that Jesus comes to meet the deepest longing of

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Jesus sent 70 people out on a mission: to share some Good News that God's reign is at hand. As church we share their calling in the world. Jesus called these first 70 followers to pray for the Lord to send workers who would be part of the harvest. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.  Go on your way.

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There's a story in the Bible about Babel that's just a few paragraphs long. Modern day folks would call Babel an industrious city. They had a goal, to make their city great. They wanted to claim a name and a place for themselves in all the world. And at first I wondered, What could God have against this city?. At first glance their goal of greatness and the unity they needed to work

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Jesus said a lot the night before he died. What he said has given hope and purpose to his followers ever after. In one evening he called his friends to find greatness in serving. A few moments later Jesus promised to be with his people in the bread and wine of communion. As the evening went on Jesus said he would give his followers a kind of peace that this world can't give. Jesus was naming

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There's a line from a song and if I say it just right some people know exactly what words come next. What is it good for... I heard that old song by Edwin Starr called War. He asked out loud, “War. What is it good for?” And his response was simple— absolutely nothin'. He asked the question again. War—what is it good for? And then I started to wonder what people in our world today

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Jesus spoke out loud about the dark-places that people don't usually talk about in polite conversation. He had the audacity to tell his followers not only how to interact with people who were easy to like. He told his follower how to deal with their enemies. Jesus said, “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those

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Not every prophet is welcomed—especially when they have to speak to the people who assume they know the prophet already. When Jesus went home—to Nazareth he met rage and the deepest hurt of the people. Luke tells the story of his moment in Nazareth, his hometown up in the hills. He was maybe a days walk west of Lake Galilee. He went into the synagogue, just like he did every week. Luke

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Jesus first followers knew first hand what it was like to just be with Jesus. They walked with him and ate with him. They heard him teach with power and authority. But there was a first time they saw his power and believed. John's gospel tells the story about the first sign--the first miracle that made it so clear that God is up to something, something good, in Jesus. Jesus mother was

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I'm thinking about Christmas as much as I can (as a human being) from Jesus' point of view. As a child we set up a manger every year. My Dad kept adding a new figurine to the setting every few years when he found one at an after Christmas sale during his lunch hour. We unpacked and set up the manger under the Christmas tree every year. The little statue of Jesus was left out until Christmas

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The week before he died Jesus taught prophetically in the temple. He named names. He called people out. He told the truth about what he saw and heard. He called out the scribes, self professed experts in religion. These scribes, so called experts, told other people what they were doing, right or wrong, in terms of the religious law. But Jesus had a bone to pick with them. They might have

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