Matthew 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so…
Matthew 28:1-10 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do…
Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. Romans 12:14-16 (CEV) I really liked playing sports when I was growing up. I was on swim team, soccer, and basketball teams. I don’t know what it…
Submission to Modern Metanoia for Ash Wednesday. In the past, when I have read this passage, I have struggled. I struggle with it because there’s a lot of talk about treasure and when I think about treasure, I can’t help but imagine pirates. I’m pretty sure that when Jesus was teaching on this subject, he wasn’t imagining a famous ride at a theme park or the near-billion US dollar grossing movie franchise we all know so well today. Because…
Sermon for Christ the King Sunday: Nov. 20, 2016 Over the past few weeks we have been unpacking together what it means to be a citizen. We have immersed ourselves in the words of the Beatitudes, considering this upside-down kingdom of God together, hearing that God blesses those who depend only on him, those who grieve, those who are humble, those who want to obey him (even more than they eat or drink…that’s a lot of obeying!) Jesus…
Submission to Modern Metanoia for Reign of Christ Sunday: Luke 23:33-43 Last weekend, I sat with a 12 year old boy that desperately wanted to die. In reality, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to die, he just really didn’t think he deserved to live. He actually used those words. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear the depths of his emotion and pain leave him with the conclusion that he did not deserve to be alive anymore. As…
Luke 12:13-21 A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?” Then he said to the crowd, “Don’t be greedy! Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe.” So Jesus told them this story: A rich man’s farm produced a big crop, and he said to himself,…
Reflection by Elijah Evetts, 9th grade What is the main goal of the Mexico mission? Some may believe that the goal is to build a house but I believe it's really something different. I believe the real goal of the Mexico mission is to grow closer to the family - both the ones we are trying to build the house for and the church family as well. Now that we are back from Mexico, I feel as though…
Luke 7:1-10 After Jesus had finished teaching the people, he went to Capernaum. In that town an army officer’s servant was sick and about to die. The officer liked this servant very much. And when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish leaders to ask him to come and heal the servant. The leaders went to Jesus and begged him to do something. They said, “This man deserves your help! He loves our nation and even built us a meeting place.”…
Genesis 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LordGod had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you…