Relating, Creating, Transforming
John 15:12-17 When I was a teenager, there was a song that I learned in a youth ministry program that stuck in my head. The song Draw Me Close by Kelly Robert Carpenter spoke to me on an emotional level. Draw me close to you Never let me go I lay it all down again […]
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Isaiah 40:4-8, Psalm 85: 8, 10, 11, 13 This time of year, a second candle is lit and people speak an elusive word: Peace. Unfortunately, I’m not sure we are all that honest about this word. Do we really believe in peace? I mean, it certainly doesn’t seem like we believe in it. Otherwise, we […]
Read MoreJohn 17:1-11 Grab a dictionary—or more likely—google it. The word unity. Here’s the definition: the state of being one; oneness. 2. a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one. 3. oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement. And now, let me tell you a […]
Read MoreJohn 14:15-21 That was a scene from the last movie of the Matrix trilogy, Matrix Revolutions. Neo, a human being played by Keanu Reeves, meets a family. This “family” is made up of all computer programs in the virtual reality called the matrix. The father, Rama-Kandra, tells Neo that he loves his his daughter, Sati, […]
Read MoreJohn 14:1-14 Kids are great at asking questions. It’s true, and this constant inquiry helps children make sense of the world and also helps them figure out how to navigate the things happening all around them. Studies show that when we are four or five years old, we ask the most questions. As we get […]
Read MoreJohn 10:1-10 and Psalm 23 A SIDE NOTE: Not really sure why, but recently Rihanna’s song We Found Love has been in my head. I really don’t have any idea if her song has anything to do with what it makes me think about it. But I will just say that the phrase “We found […]
Read MoreJohn 20:19-31 The movie Philomena is based on the 2009 investigative book by British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] correspondent Martin Sixsmith, entitled, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. Philomena Lee, played by Judi Dench, is an older woman searching for her long-lost son. When Philomena was a young woman living in an Irish-Catholic community, she gave […]
Read MoreJohn 20:1-18 The monarch butterfly is an amazing creature. Every year hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies go on a great journey of up to 3000 miles in their annual migration from Canada and the United States to their wintering grounds in Mexico. Once they arrive in Mexico, the monarchs congregate in the oyamel […]
Read MoreJohn 11:1-45 Now look, I don’t know if you watch The Walking Dead on television or if you’re into zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead, REC, Dawn of the Dead, World War Z, or 28 Days Later. I am not sure if the idea of a once-dead human being rising from death to […]
Read MoreJohn 9:1-41 The Temptation, Hugo van der Goes, 1470 What is sin? Man, what a complicated question that is! Of course, there is no way to address such a question in a short time. But it will be helpful to start with the English word itself and work backwards. So let’s do some etymology of […]
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