No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NLT) This text from Micah is among the most recognizable from among the prophets, perhaps because it...
Reflections
The Candles of Advent
They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Luke 2:9b-10 Asbury celebrates the four Sundays before Christmas by lighting one candle for each Sunday that signifies our...
Peace to those God Favors
Our worship series for Advent and Christmas is titled God Bless Us Everyone. Our series is based on the classic story by Charles Dickens about a character named Ebenezer Scrooge. A lot of our ideas come from Marcia McFey of WorshipDesignStudio.com who based the ideas...
Holy Ground
Moses may have learned more that day when he came face to face with God than we may ever realize. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground" God said to Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 3:5b NLT). Ever since then it seems we have found reason...
Breaking News
Cyndi and I try to catch 30 minutes of national and world news each night. Without fail the anchor begins with some form of "Breaking news!" The words and tone of voice aim to build tension. Hopefully, to bring us to the edge of our seats and keep us there through the...
Let Your Life be about Life
For the past six weeks we have talked about life. Not the sort of life that is too often found among friends, families and strangers where death is at the centerfold of their conversations and actions. Rather, we talked about allowing our lives be about living life in...
Alive in Us
"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce...
Making Sense of Life
In the book we are using as a reference for our current worship and teaching series, Leading Causes of Life, the second leading cause raised by our authors is coherence. My wife warned me that this word requires too much explanation. It is not part of our common...
Life from Connections
The interaction between the causes of life described in the book that I am using for our teachings for our current worship series fascinate me.* Each cause generates other causes as life itself is a tapestry of connections. What we do matters and has consequences for...
Creation is not for Sale
Pastor Monica Willarreal of Salem Lutheran Church offered a statement of conviction that I chose to write down for further reflection at a later time. "Creation is not for sale." We were part of an ecumenical group who gathered at Bethel United Methodist Church to...