May 7, 2017

The church talks a lot about being the place where everyone is welcome. We put that very kind of language in the front of our bulletin. “We at Peace Lutheran Welcome everyone who walks in the door.” But I suspect that there are people who come here on Sundays who...

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April 23, 2017

There are many Biblical scholars that will say this God encounter in Jesus is also a recapitulation of the opening event of Mary. Scholars will say that just as when Mary encounters the angel who announces God’s new presence in her life and turns her life upside down, so too...

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April 30, 2017

The Bible is the story of God and God’s people. Any time people are involved in a story it can be a messy story. A lot of faithful people have struggles with the idea that Bible is a messy story. They like a nice neat story they can tell their...

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Easter Sunday – April 16, 2017

I can’t believe. Have you ever noticed how often that phrase gets thrown around? It seems like so many things in life bring forth the response, “I can’t believe it.” And yet here are. We gathered on Easter morning because somebody has told us something truly unbelievable, fully worthy of...

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April 9, 2017

Is it wrong to have expectations of God? I don’t think so. We are people of faith, and being of faith means that we live in this world differently. We don’t care what the world says, we listen to our hearts which say, “God is with us.” And so we...

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April 2, 2017

There is the old saying, “Seeing is believing.” Maybe that saying totally misses the mark. As I read the scripture story what becomes clear to me is that most often not seeing is more powerful than sight. Maybe it is that the blind, those who can’t see who recognize their...

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March 22, 2017

Needy – Tom Barnes It’s not a compliment, my Lord, No one wants to be thought needy. The word conjures up fears of being weak-kneed and wishy-washy, unable to stand on our own feet. We spend loads of physical and psychological energy convincing others—and ourselves—that we are autonomous, independent-minded people...

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March 19, 2017

It is really not that difficult to get lost. My own experience in life is that at one moment everything is ok and the next I have wandered off on some adventure in being lost. I guess I am not all that different than that one sheep who wandered off...

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