John chapter 17 is a different kind of Lord’s Prayer. Instead of teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus prays for them at this, the...

After saying that loving him means obeying his teachings, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to the disciples. What they have known in Jesus,...

In college, I sang Edward Bainton’s choral piece “And I Saw A New Heaven”, based on the first few verses of this morning’s passage from...

Today is often called Shepherding Sunday, when we celebrate that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and consider what it means that we are...

There’s something to be said about routines. They keep our lives organized- easier to know what’s next and to get everything done when...

“Seeing is believing.” That’s what we say, isn’t it. We want to be able to touch, to sense, to see something before we can truly believe...

It was time to go tend to him.  We had waited, waited, waited, in the agonizing depth of Sabbath-keeping stillness, bearing our grief...

Do you remember the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special? The one from 1964. I love that movie- it’s the only Christmas movie that I...

This morning’s theme is temptation and it’s not how we usually interpret it. In Gifts of the Dark Wood , temptation is not necessarily...

Have you ever felt totally lost? Like where you are just isn’t working for you, it’s sapping everything but you have no idea what’s next?...

Let’s start with a little bit of context to the scripture from the book of Job. Job is a good and Godly man, and then experiences a whole...

Emptiness. This morning’s theme reminds me of the Christian analogy that a person has a “God-shaped hole” within them. I remember being...

Throughout our lives, there are times when we find ourselves in what Dante and Rev. Eric Elnes refer to as the Dark Wood: a place of...

In the first chapter of his book Gifts of the Dark Wood ,   Rev Eric Elnes writes that his “book is about seeing life through new eyes,...

At first glance, Jesus seems to be telling us to be doormats.  If they hit you, just let them hit you again. If they’re persecuting you,...

Last week, we witnessed Jesus preaching to crowds from Simon Peter’s boat, then causing a miraculous catch of fish. James and John...

Simon Peter has already seen what Jesus can do. After preaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and throwing out a demon, Jesus had gone to...

Jesus was just starting his ministry, and what better place to start than home? So, after being tempted in the wilderness, Jesus headed...

There are so many things that we do out of habit. Brushing our teeth at night and in the morning. Maybe saying grace before a meal....

Everyone had a different experience of Jesus’ turning water into wine. First, there’s Mama Mary. The local busybody, Mama is paying...