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Prayers for the day
For Our Enemies O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. For Social Justice Grant, O God,…
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The greatest examples we carry
I have reached a place in the Gospel of John that causes me to walk slowly. It’s difficult for me when I think I’m in some sort of time crunch, or in a “check off” mode. But this is holy ground.
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The grief in my heart
Over the past few years I’ve witnessed a historical shift in American life. Growing up in a politically active time and family, I had enjoyed politics and national issues. That has eroded over time. Yet, that doesn’t disappoint or grieve. That grief in my heart is over the American Church. Over the past several days I have simply put”Today would…
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Where the Word has taken me
I am working my way through Acts in a new notebook. As I journey through Acts, I am putting down what I have learned in study and in ministry life over 30 years. At least three major turns in my life and ministry have come in Acts 10, 16, and 20. They are vivid in my mind and I am…
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We must pray!
“If we don’t pray, we remain attached to earthly things, we become small like them, we get pressured by them, we sell ourselves to them — because we give our love and our heart to them. “We must pray!” — Karl Rahner, Why We Need to Pray
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Prayers for the Church in these times
The Lord seems to have increased my burden in prayer for the American Church. I ran across this prayer (in part) this morning: Revive your Church, Lord God of hosts, whenever it falls into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders… and grant that their faith and vigor of mind may awaken your people to your message and their…
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Worthwhile (and necessary) reading
Over the past few weeks, I have not been released from a burden to pray for the Church, especially in America. At the beginning of this year, the Lord spoke to me about a window of opportunity for the American Church to truly repent. That window is closing. Will we repent?
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The difficulty of discipleship
John 6 is at once one of my favorite chapters to chew on… and the most frustrating chapter to read. It is the deep call to discipleship and full participation in Christ. This is the place where Jesus drives a crowd AWAY. In our world, that’s utter foolishness. We are so thirsty for big crowds! We celebrate big crowds! And…
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The reminder of who we are as the church
In worship yesterday our song of procession was Luther’s great hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” What a beautiful reminder of who we are as the Church of Christ!
