Zoar

During this season of Lent, our Thursday morning Bible study group has been exploring a small book that offers great insights into some of the characters on the fringes of the Palm Sunday path. The book is titled An Unlikely Lent: Extraordinary   People of the Easter Story.  Using the insights we've gleaned from the author, United Methodist pastor Rachel Billups, along with our own God-given gift of imagination, we've been able to step back and take a fresh look at the Palm S

I feel like the gospel of John is love wrapped in a hug wrapped in a blanket. And today's gospel blanket is equal parts warm and fuzzy and uncomfortable and scratchy. Now our synoptic gospel writers Mark, Matthew, and Luke, tell the intimately familiar Last Supper story of Jesus breaking bread and sharing wine and saying the words we hear each time we come to the communion rail. Fun fact: Mark's and Matthew's Jesus says "Take; this is my body." (Matt. 26: 26, Mark 14: 22) whi

I wonder: Who else besides me is struck by how eerily on point today's gospel reading is? {Show of hands, if that was your reaction as you listened... ] In this passage from Matthew 24, Jesus tells his disciples, "You will hear of wars and rumors of war," and before Jesus even finishes his thought, our finite human brains are already off to the races, thinking, "Whoa! The Middle East and much of the rest of the world are under fire and on fire.... Does that mean we're living

Today's gospel is the story companion to Jesus's riddled question that stumped his enemies in Mark Chapter 11. The chapter just before today's gospel is Mark's version of the Palm Sunday text that we heard last week. And then after riding through the streets on a colt, Jesus goes to the temple and what does he do? That's right, he overturns the tables of the moneychangers and says, '""Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?" But you

Confession #1: It's kind of a tough call, but 'Lent just might be my favorite season of the church year. Over the years, I've enjoyed the Lenten focus on spiritual practice and self-reflection because it reminds me to slow down - at least a little bit!... So, I'm curious: Does anyone else have a particular fondness for the season of Lent? [Show of hands, if you do!...] Yeah, so some of us appreciate the gifts of Lent. BUT at the very same time, I'm aware that some of us also

One Sunday morning, a long time ago, I sat quietly on the wooden pew, wedged between my dad and my stepmother, staring down at my little legs dangling several inches above the floor. My dad had just retrieved me from Sunday School, where the teacher had asked our class whether we knew what the word "reverent" meant. When we responded by shaking our heads "no," she informed us that "reverent" means "quiet" and "respectful" in God's house. Then she asked the class another quest

Ash Wednesday Prayer  February 18, 12 pm   In preparation for our Lenten journey, we will gather in the Kindness Room for a short noon-time service of prayer with Scripture readings, a reflection by Pastor Michelle, and the imposition of ashes, which remind us of our mortality and our dependence on God’s care. Holy Communion will be celebrated.   Ash Wednesday Worship  February 18, 7 pm   We will gather in the sanctuary to receive ashes as a reminder of our mortality and our