Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays — We Make a Place for Everyone! Place-sharing Today’s gospel evokes our sympathy. It opens the possibility—described as an impossibility—of place-sharing, trading or sharing places with each other. It also echoes a common theme: the pursuit of wealth in this world can lead us into idolatry and away [...]

Blessing of the Backpacks A new school year brings excitement, fresh opportunities, and sometimes a little nervousness too. As students of all ages prepare to step into classrooms, begin new routines, and take on new challenges, we want to surround them with prayer, encouragement, and God’s blessing. On Sunday, September 21, during our regular worship [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays — We Make a Place for Everyone! Love or Money? A rich landowner tells his unsatisfactory manager he’s going to fire him. We don’t know how long the employee had to clear his desk, but apparently it was long enough to win friends and influence the people who [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays — We Make a Place for Everyone! Lost and Found Today’s readings give witness that God has a heart for losers. God reconciles with the idol-worshiping people of Israel. The risen Lord calls the violent, blasphemous persecutor, Paul. The faithful shepherd rescues the wandering sheep and carries it [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays -- We Make a Place for Everyone! Radical Love Triumphs For most of human history wisdom was largely part of an oral tradition. From one generation to the next, wisdom was passed down. These days it sometimes seems that technology has replaced that tradition of shared wisdom. Rather [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays - We Make a Place for Everyone! God’s Verbs Through the lens of the gospel, today’s texts offer a clear identification of God’s work. What is God doing? God is reaching out to the bound-up to proclaim release from captivity. God is lifting up the oppressed. God is [...]

Join Us at 9:30 am -- We Make a Place for Everyone! The Reality of Division Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls on his hearers to turn their hearts away from greed and instead to generosity, to turn away from anxious self-preservation and instead to faithful self-giving. But such practice rubs against humanity’s deepest-seated [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays -- We Make a Place for Everyone! A Kingdom for the Little Flock “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus promises the kingdom to us, his little flock, straining our minds with this uninhibited generosity. Even [...]

Join us at 9:30 am on Sundays -- We Make a Place for Everyone! Dying to be Rich “All is vanity and a chasing after wind,” says Ecclesiastes, yet we chase wealth like it will last forever, forgetting that we ourselves will one day die and that everything we have stored up here will be [...]

Join us on Sundays at 9:30 am — We Make a Place for Everyone! Our Persistent, Negotiating Prayer Life Today’s readings incorporate several themes: negotiation, commands, persistence, and expectation. And surrounding all these themes is a bigger theme: boldness. Abraham is bold in speaking with God, so bold in fact that he not only negotiates [...]

Join us on Sundays at 9:30 am — We Make a Place for Everyone! Unexpected and Intentional Distraction As digital tablets and smart phones keep us busy and on the go, today’s gospel reminds us of a struggle: when are we to set aside our busy calendars, duties, and to-do lists and simply rest in [...]

Join us on Sundays at 9:30 am — We Make a Place for Everyone! Who Are You? Who do you identify with in the parable? This is part of what makes parables so powerful. Some days we read the story through the eyes of the priest or the Levite. Some days we feel like the [...]