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(I preached this sermon on Sunday, October 18, 2020. It was in response to the Gospel Matthew 22:15-22. You can find the entire service including the sermon on this link.) In 1989, the camera company Canon released one of the most memorable commercials ever made.  It featured a then 19-year-old...

Prayer for October 15, 2020: Please pray with me. God of grace, God of mercy, you hold us in your tender care. Lead us down the path of righteousness. Set us on the path of discipleship. Empower us to live as you would want us to live. And when...

Prayer for October 14, 2020: Please pray with me. Holy God, come to our aid. Open our hearts to being transformed. Open our minds to being vulnerable. Open our hands to embrace those around us. Lord, we have difficulty accepting those around us who are different from ourselves. Often,...

Prayer for October 13, 2020: Please pray with me. God of truth, so often we think we are the bearers of truth. We think we are the measure of truth. But this is not so. You are the measure of truth. We get wrapped up thinking we know all...

Jesus asks for a lot – the whole you. No missing parts. No walling off sections of your life. All of it. And he calls on his followers to pick up their crosses too – the thing that will kill them – and to carry those things. He calls...

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Prayer for October 12, 2020: Please pray with me. God of the nations, why do we have such a difficult time accepting this title of yours? Why do we want to barricade you into just a small section of our lives? Why do we think we know better than...

(Here is my sermon preached on Sunday, October 11, 2020. It was in response to the Epistle reading for the day – Philippians 4:1-9) I read a commentary this week on the selected passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians that really nailed it.  It’s by Ekapurta Tupamahu, who is...

Prayer for October 8, 2020: Please pray with me. God of justice, how do we pray for enemies? We are told to pray for our enemies, but what does that sound like? What do we say? Psalm 109 tells us how evildoers often end up ensnared in the very...