Category Archives: Jesus

Where is God in Minneapolis?

 One night, around 1 am, my doorbell rang. Even in the Alaskan summer, when it is still light at that time, and people tend to stay up late hours, that was unusual. I opened the door and found my son … Continue reading

Posted in Black Lives Matter, Evil, George Forbes, Injustice, Jesus, Justice, Minneapolis, Pastoral Prayer, Racism, Romans 8, Romans 8:28, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Did Ye Get Healed

  In 1987, the singer Van Morrison, best known for his song “Brown-Eyed Girl,” released an album called  Poetic Champions Compose which included a powerful song called, “Did Ye Get Healed.” You may be surprised to see that the title … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Church Growth, Communion, Compassion, Growth, Healing, Jesus, ministry, Mission, Musings, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Relationships, Sermons, Social Justice, Social Ministry, spirituality | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hope for the Holidays

  I wonder what Mary and Joseph saw when they look into the eyes of their newborn child. What did they see in the eyes of Jesus? On the one hand, they knew this was a special child, a child … Continue reading

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Love Your Enemies

      Joseph There is the idea that the Old Testament is the book of Law, and the New Testament is all about grace. That is broadly true, but there are large elements of grace and forgiveness in the … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Compassion, Forgive Your enemies, forgiveness, Jesus, Joseph, Love, Spiritual Growth, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growth in Grace

    Parenting, as most parents know, can be a terrifying experience. Rewarding, yes, but also terrifying. Somehow you know, that when you hold that little bitty baby in your arms, that you are going to provide a good living … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Compassion, forgiveness, Growth, Jesus, Jesus Boyhood, ministry, Musings, Salvation, Social Justice, Social Ministry, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Transformation, Virtue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Silent Night

The First Silent Night On Christmas Eve, 1818, in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, the members of the Catholic church gathered for the Christmas Eve mass. The priest, Joseph Mohr, had just recently come to the church. … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Christmas Eve, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Peace, Preaching, Silent Night, Spiritual Growth, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O Little Town of Bethlehem

In 1865, after the civil war, after Lincoln’s tragic death, a Philadelphia Episcopalian priest visited the Holy Land. While he was there he took a horseback ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, so he could attend Christmas Eve … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Church, Incarnation, Jesus, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Preaching, Sermons, Spiritual Growth, spirituality, Transformation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

  Introduction I love Christmas for many reasons, but one is that during Christmas we get to see, very clearly, the link between the Old and the New Testaments. On the whole there two mistakes people make in trying to … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Church, Incarnation, Jesus, O Antiphons, Old Testament, Sermons, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

That REAL Old Time Religion

  This is one of the oldest hymns that is still sung today, and one of the few hymns sung by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. It has a depth of meaning, and here I am just scratching … Continue reading

Posted in Advent, Advent Carol, Advent Sermon, Athanasius, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Incarnation, Jesus, Musings, Preaching, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mighty Mites

  Lucifer vs. Tit for Tat During the Cuban missile crisis in the early 1960s, social scientists were working on how to respond to the nuclear threat in ways that would stop either side from blowing up the world. If … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Church Growth, Community, Compassion, Courage, forgiveness, Jesus, ministry, Mission, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Sermons, Social Justice, Social Ministry, spirituality, Theology, Wealth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment