Faith seems like such an unattainable thing sometimes. Go for a ride on the struggle bus with me as we take a deep dive into understanding faith.
Viewing entries in
Worship
Have you always wanted to be a magician? Here is an idea: be generous.
I have a shirt that says, “be kind.” It seems like such a simple thing to do, yet it is not always our go-to behavior when interacting with others.
Impatience is often accompanied by huffs and puffs and creasing of the brows and rubbing of the temples. Impatience produces a physiological response within us that aids in the heightening of our tempers, which can lead to regretful choices in the moment.
We understand peace to be something that can be accomplished within our hearts and within our lives. We understand peace to be a state of being in our minds regardless of the chaos around us.
What is it about the laughter of a child, watching someone receive their degree, or getting lost in a worship song that can bring us such joy?
When we think about love, we often think about the strongest type of love as being between a parent and a child or two people who have said, “I do.” Those are both valid and very real forms of love in our lives, but they are not the love that is spoken about when we refer to love as a fruit of the Spirit.
It is a beautiful thing when the work of humanity and the work of God come together to truly set people free. Is this the work we are about?
What a somber day it is when the ones we love are no longer with us. Even if, within our hearts, we find great hope in the resurrection, it is still bittersweet.
We are in for a treat this Sunday, as the children and youth will be leading both worship services.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
I can remember staying at my grandparents’ house by the beach every summer. They hated it when us kids would constantly run in the house and back out of the house, open the door and close the door. After doing that a couple of times in a row, without fail, we would receive the question, “Are you in, or are you out?”
Have you ever bought a pair of shoes because you really, really liked them, but they were the wrong size?
Have you ever begun talking and wanted to shove everything you just said back into your mouth? Once it’s out, there’s no taking it back.
Our “not again” doesn’t have to be what it was before. Insert the resurrected Jesus, and watch the whole process transform.
What we find is that “holier-than-thou” Jesus doesn’t arrive to a throng of cheering crowds on his high horse; he arrives on a donkey.
Steelers legend Mike Webster left a message for me. He wanted to talk about something I had shared with thousands of people. He was not happy, but, looking back, he taught me something about humility.
When you have no other option, leftovers satisfy, but when you have plenty, leftovers feel like not enough.
What would you do with true popularity? How would you treat crowds of people following you? What would Jesus do?
Here it is, the perfect opportunity for Jesus to show his power right out of the gate. God has affirmed him, and he is greeted by none other than Satan himself.