The magi came a week early at our church so we could look at the second half of the story (what happened after they left) sequentially, which means we get a clear look at the way Matthew framed the birth of Jesus–and it’s a tough picture. On our calendar, the travelers always arrive at the…
This last Sunday of Advent leans into Christmas at our church since many folks will not be around Christmas Eve. This morning we looked at Matthew’s telling of Joseph’s side of the experience, brief as it is. I closed our service with my last Advent carol, “Knock Again.” ________________________ When I read the brevity of…
quenched disorder I’d never seen those words beside each other until I read the phrase and the definition “the right level of randomness to explore the adjacent possible” let’s go back to quenching and the randomness I keep seeing little fires having to be put out and those little fires keep us paying attention the…
Our in-person worship got snowed out today, but I was able to record from home, so this sermon got to be more than just a manuscript. Joy is the theme of the third Sunday in Advent, and the scripture was Mary’s response to her surprising circumstance. Here’s where it took me. ___________________________ Of all the…
ice the rain came late this afternoon actually more of a drizzle or mist just enough to coat the streets before the temperature drops below freezing which means we will wake to a coating of ice that will impair our travel and leave some of us stranded or feeling fearful I wonder if it was…
Tonight’s post is a video, since I have spent a good part of the afternoon and evening working on a music video which will be released on the streaming services on my birthday, Friday, December 12. I am posting here for you, and you can also find in on YouTube, if you would like to…
brain freeze I have spent all day trying to get warm it has felt as though the freeze was coming from inside my bones and working its way through my skin to join the frigid air that has surrounded me like a custom suit no snow or ice just freezing cold there is probably something…
This week’s sermon is built around Matthew’s description of John the Baptist, but I wandered a bit through the Christmas story to get to him and ended up thinking about what it takes to exact significant change in our lives. _______________________________ When we read Matthew’s description of John the Baptist and the things he said…
preparing today has been a day of preparation baking cookies for a coffee house concert tomorrow night a breakfast casserole for the church brunch after our budget meeting also tomorrow a third and fourth revision of my sermon and practicing my new advent carol as much as my hands would let me after all the…
first friday it’s the first Friday in December and in our little snow globe town which means we light the evergreen tree on the Town Green crowds gather and the traffic jams for no other reason than we have decided it matters to all be together to flip the switch the evening is electric because…