What happens when the only that which people brought with them encounters the power of God? It becomes more than enough, if we read the scripture right.
What happens when what we bring, our financial resources, our talents, and our time encounters the power of God in our community?… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 12b – 28-Jul-24”
There are a lot of incredible things that go on in the ministries of this congregation. I don't believe we've ever fed 5000 men, with women and children on top of that, but we do have ministries that work to help those without food, clothing, or shelter.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B11 – 21-Jul-24”
Who is Jesus? That's what people in Jesus' day were asking. People are still asking that today. Oh, they know that Jesus was a teacher, who said some important things about loving other people, but they're still wondering what difference that makes.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B10 – 14-Jul-24”
In our scriptures for today, we're told that we have the great responsibility to carry the Good News of God's love into the world. We're not guaranteed a good reception and we're certainly not expected to be perfect in order to do this.… Read the rest “Table Meditation for Proper B9 – 7-Jul-24”
Sometimes Jesus' ministry was very public. He fed over 5000 people in one instance. Sometimes Jesus' ministry was private and personal, like the stories of healing one small girl and one particular woman from our scripture for today.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B8 – 30-Jun-24”
One thing that happens a lot when you're working with God is the surprises when God does something unexpected, especially when that something shows how much power God has. There are times in my own life when God took what I had to give an did something miraculous...… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B7 – 23-Jun-24”
Jesus said that the Realm and Rule of God is like a mustard seed. It starts out small, almost insignificant, easy to overlook. As it grows, it becomes something much larger and much more significant.
It starts when we return a bit of God's blessings, whether it's financial resources or some of our time or abilities.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B6 – 16-Jun-24”
Jesus said, "Whoever does God's will is one of my brothers or sisters." One large part of what we know to be God's will is to take care of the poor, the helpless, the forgotten, the hungry, and the suffering.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B5 – 9-Jun-24”
When Jesus disciples went through the field and picked a few heads of grain to eat, they were doing something which the people of Israel in Jesus' time not only allowed but planned for. It was part of the directions that God had given to Israel about how they should treat the stranger and traveler.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B4 – 2-Jun-24”
There are a lot of things about God that are sometimes difficult to understand, things like how God presents God's self in at least three ways, as Father, Son, and Spirit. However, one thing we can say is that those three aspects of God work together in a complementary way in order to do the work God wants to get done,
Likewise, the Church is made up of a lot of very different people and the only way we can do God's work is when we work together in complementary ways, each giving of ourselves and our resources to make that happen.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Trinity Sunday B – 26-May-24”