A big chunk of the day today was spent outside, doing a home repair project. I’ll be honest: I don’t love doing home repair projects. And I really hadn’t been looking forward to today’s project. It involved digging and pouring concrete. So there’s that. But I went out around 7:30am and got started. At one … More Soaking in Sunshine
Our community is built on trust. We trust that our neighbors are going to look out for us. We trust that when our light at the intersection turns green, the light for the cross-street will turn red. We trust that our educators have nothing but the best interest of our kids in mind. We trust … More Choose to Trust
Words have power. They just do. Our words have the power to shape our world…to shape how we feel about someone…to shape a relationship. We have seen this in our lives. We have seen this in the world around us. We have seen this in our famly…and our friends. A compliment can lift my spirits. … More With Just A Word
We are just one week away from the 2nd anniversary of the tornado that came through Owatonna, September 20th, 2018. Remember that one? For a couple of days, the power was out through most of the town, including here at church. We had to shout our way through the Saturday night worship service, and the … More Today We Start With Why
I have a confession to make: I am easily tempted. Yes, it’s true. It could be ice cream. Or it could be potato chips. (You see, I don’t discriminate, I like both the sweet and the salty.) Or it could be a new, really cool electronic device that does something amazing (that I probably don’t … More Temptation
On November 2, 2011, White House press secretary, Jay Carney was asked a question during a routine press briefing. He was asked to explain the president’s belief that government should be helping the American people with the jobs crisis. He replied: “Well, I believe the phrase from the Bible is, ‘The Lord helps those who … More Right Here…Right Now…
Today is a windy day. As I’m writing this, I can look out of the windows of my office and see the trees on the front lawn of the church blowing around in the wind. Branches and leaves are swirling. But as I look down the trunk of the trees from the top to the … More Deep Roots
We all love a good story, don’t we? You hear the first familiar words, and immediately you settle in to listen, because you know what is coming. Let me show you what I mean: I’ll say the first few words that begin a story, and we’ll see if you can complete the sentence. Let’s start … More This Story Has Power
We were hoping power would be restored and the lights would come back on Saturday afternoon in time for the 5pm worship service. Nope. So we moved the worship into Fellowship Hall and made do. But by Sunday? Surely by Sunday the power at church would be restored, right? Come Sunday morning, despite the best … More The Light of Jesus was Enough
Hope is a feeling in your heart. It will get you through any situation. It will carry you through the good and help you through the bad. It’s like a path. You are walking on. you are having amazing experiences, nothing bad has happened. Then you hit this point, there are people all around yelling … More God’s Hope Changes Everything
Test Driving Theology 