Lent is a time of self examination, which can be a pretty discouraging process. If we can't help ourselves, then who will help us?

Through much of Paul's writing we get a sense of his self-confidence. But in this passage, he confesses his shortcomings, and Paul's description of them is very much applicable to each of us. It's a very appropriate perspective for Lent.

Children's Moment 2/26/2017

To conclude our series on The Art of Neighboring, we turn to the closing words of the Gospel of Matthew, "The Great Commission," where Jesus is sending his disciples out with one important task, which is still our task today.

In these stories of Elijah, the prophet receives help from some unexpected people and places that would have startled Israelites who heard the stories. What does this kind of receiving say about how God expects us to give, and about who our neighbors are?

Children's Moment 2/19/2017

In this familiar passage from The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out our role in the Kingdom using the metaphors of salt and light. Interestingly, Jesus does not tell his listeners (and us) how to become the salt and light: rather, he assumes we are the salt and light and tells us how to proceed.

"Good fences make good neighbors" is an oft-quoted phrase from a poem by Robert Frost. But what many don't realize is that Frost is actually arguing against that, holding that neighbors are good neighbors when fences are no barriers. What are the barriers that prevent us from being good neighbors?

Often we find ourselves interrupted when we're in the middle of something. Sometimes those interruptions can be irritating. But in this story, Jesus is interrupted several times, and every interruption causes him to be attentive, and each interruption actually turns out to be a very good thing. This is the second of our series on The Art of Neighboring and discovering who is our neighbor.

Children's Moment 1/29/2017