This week we hear the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. This story doesn’t get quite the same status and attention in our baptismal teachings as say, Noah or the Samaritan woman. His story is complicated. He lives on the margins of society and is often excluded and primed for rejection. It’s no […]

As we anticipate the end of this pandemic and looking forward to returning to in person services and activities, we must fully acknowledge some things have fundamentally shifted. Which makes this Sunday’s text at the beginning of Acts, one in which the disciples begin to find new ways of serving the community and living their […]

This week, some disciples can’t recognize the man they called Messiah only three days prior, and Jesus spends a whole day with them pretending not to know anything about the trauma that has gone down in Jerusalem. Here we see Jesus’s prankster side and we give thanks for laughter during these days that seem serious […]

This past year has felt, for many of us, like a long, extended Lent and Holy Week. As this pandemic year surrounds us with grief and loss many of us find ourselves looking for God – perhaps even doubting God’s existence. Much like the very first Easter morning, when doubt and disbelieve filled those who […]

While this Sunday we celebrate “Palm Sunday,” when we hear the story of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem from the Gospel of Luke, there aren’t any palm branches mentioned. There aren’t any “Hosannas!” proclaimed either. In fact, as Jesus nears the city, he stops and weeps over it, grieving that the people did not recognize God […]

On our final Sunday in Lent before we get to Palm Sunday and Holy Week, Jesus is on his way to enter Jerusalem but must make a couple more stops before he gets there. Each part of the story this week, Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection, the disciples not understanding, the healing of a […]

As much as we shy away from conversations about money, most of us can admit to dreaming about all the things we could do if only we had a little more of it. This week, Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, offering a stark contrast between those who have and those […]

Many of us are so familiar with the three stories Jesus tells in Luke 15 that we’ll immediately say yes, we’ll go off to search for the one while leaving the other 99 behind. Even if the answer is yes, then the question also becomes, “are we willing to be the 99 left behind for […]

This week Jesus has some difficult conversations with people about sin: Are some sins worse than others? Can we sin just a little bit, or is it all or nothing? Jesus then tells the parable of the fig tree, reminding us that our God is a god of second chances. Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam, […]

When we read the story of the Good Samaritan, we often picture ourselves in the role of the Samaritan, helping another person (or being challenged to help another person) when others pass them by. But what if that’s not what Jesus means? What if Jesus intends for us to hear it another way? Listen as […]