The season of Advent often feels like you’re standing just at the edge of dawn. Have you ever been up in the morning for a sunrise? Then you know exactly what I’m talking about: The sky is still dim. The world is quiet. Yet there is just enough light on the horizon to tell you that morning … More Hope Refines
Jerry Buegler. Elmer Buegler. Gertrude Buegler. Grace Moody. Elliott Moody. Lyle Tjosaas. Carol Tjosaas. Phillip Moody. Charles Moody. Jim Campbell. Kimberly Devine-Johnson. Tom Hunstad. Matthias Meester. Robert Roubik. These are my names. The names of people, precious to me, who over the years I have lost. These are my names. You have your names. Your own list of people that you have known and loved, and who have died in faith. When … More For All the Saints
When I was a kid, my family had one of those big, clunky console televisions. People of a certain age will remember them. They weighed as much as a small car. The screen was this big, but the heavy wooden cabinet was this big. Every so often the picture would get fuzzy or the sound would cut out. We’d … More Together for Good
226 years ago, in the year 1799, a twelve-year-old boy named Conrad Reed, skipped Sunday School to go fishing. He found a place to fish along Little Meadow Creek on his family’s farm in North Carolina. While standing by the creek, young Conrad saw what he thought was a “yellow rock shining in the water.” … More The Generous Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom you belong. Amen. A friend of mine up in the Twin Cities once told me about his attempt to join a local pickleball league. (Anybody here ever play Pickleball?). He had seen the game, thought it … More Rooted in Love
I recently read a story about a family that left their church one Sunday, and as they got into the car, the critiques started rolling in like they were filling out a review on Yelp: The list of pros and cons just kept coming. Finally, their eight-year-old piped up from the back seat and said, “Well, what … More To Be Trinity
Have you ever noticed that there are rules in life that seem like they were designed just to drive you crazy? Maybe it’s a traffic law…maybe some policy at your work…or perhaps it’s a social expectation. There are rules and laws that don’t make a lot of sense to us. For instance: Rules and laws. Some of … More Free to Love
Welcome to “Campfire Stories,” our summer sermon series. I want to think together about the power…and the importance…of stories for just a moment. Stories are central to who we are. Stories teach us important lessons…the stories we remember…the stories we tell…they say something about who we are as a people…they say something about our hearts. I have always … More Pick it Up
A farmer was teaching his young son how to plow. As his son sat in the tractor seat, his dad pointed to the far end of the field. “Now, son,” he said, “What you have to do is keep you eyes on one point at the far end of the field. Just focus on that one thing and … More Turn Your Face
Have you ever had one of those days when you didn’t feel like you belong? Maybe you’re somewhere new…somewhere different…and you’re not confident you’re going to fit in? When I was a college student, there was a woman I dated during my junior year. (This was, of course, before I’d been swept off my feet by … More Erase the Lines
Test Driving Theology 