Jesus enters Jerusalem to a crowd laying palms and cloaks before him. He heads right to the Temple to check things out and Mark tells us, he "looks around at everything." In this sermon, I consider what that means for Jesus and for us s we enter this holiest week of the Christian year.

So much of the Lenten story comes through in today's sacred texts from Jeremiah 31:31-34 - God renews the covenant and it is adjusted to what we need at the time and place in history and John 12:20-33 where the core purpose for Jesus culminating in this significant holy week. In this Jesus shows us the difficult but fruitful path we must walk for all of life to be fulfilled. Then, there will be so much to celebrate at Easter.

(Ephesians 2:10) "For we are what God has made us,

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." As an alternative to a sermon talk, the congregation broke into small groups to discuss this version and the full passage verses 1-10 using this discussion guide - https://www.dropbox.com/s/2utjvujuhb0h6wy/18-0311%20Sermon%20Guide.docx?dl=0 . The open and close is with the whole group with one small group discussion recorded in the middle.

There is Soft Christianity and Hard Christianity. Soft Christianity begins with gentle baby Jesus. It has expectations of his followers that they be kind, gentle, compassionate and offer service to those in need. Then thee is Hard Christianity that teaches that we must fight for what is right and yes, event upset the applecart at times to square things back on track as God intended. Today's Gospel is about Hard Christianity so let;s dive in. Sacred Texts: Exodus 20:1-17, John 2:13-22

At some point in life, most of us believe some of the promises we are told about life. Then we experience broken promises and our own doubts sneak in. This leads us to not living into the promises and then things go astray and we lose our way. Today, we look at this process for Abraham and Sarah. Today, we receive the promise of what it means to follow Jesus - we must lose our life to save it. Can you live into that promise? Sacred Texts: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-26 and Mark 8:31-38

This is the first Sunday following the horrific and devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida. As we begin Lent, what do we do with the 18th School shooting of 2018. God renews the Covenant with humanity with Noah following the devastation of the flood. What is God doing now? What would Jesus do about all these school shootings. This sermon considers how we can use Lent to follow the wisdom of Jesus to respond in new ways. Mark 1:9-15, Genesis 9:8-17

The story of the Transfiguration was transformative for Peter, James, and John. As followers of Jesus, what have been our transformative experience. What is it that loosens our allegiance to the gods of this world -- the things we make gods in out need for power and control? This is the way of the spiritual journey -- to see the new and bigger realities and possibilities in God's infinite love. Mark 9:2-9, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Have you ever watched those Healing Preachers on TV? Instant healing - Do you believe it happens? In this sermon, we explore Jesus healing as portrayed in Mark. It seems to be instant but there is so much more to say. Today we look at the reality of the healing process straight in the eyes.

Paul says, "Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up" -- what does this mean? We explore this in the context of this raging Information Age and a time that seems chaotic. How do we get it right in these times? Paul's instruction to the Corinthians - how does it apply to us today? Sacred Text: Mark 8:1-13.

We sat in a circle and had an intimate worship today. We had many people gone either flu sick or at the Women's March in Spokane. My message focused on "Stubborn Minds" such as the ones who have closed the Government done in Washington D.C. But really we can't escape it...we too often have stubborn minds that close others out. We notice today that the scripture tells us that even God changes her mind. This may be the fundamental issue of our day. How can we bridge the divide if no one changes their mind? Sacred Text: Jonah 3:1-5,10 and Mark 1:14-20.