April 16, 2019
April 14, 2019
Lenten Devotional: Holy Week (Sun., Apr. 14 – Sat., Apr. 20)
Palm/Passion Sunday, April 14 This week’s theme: The living Word of God We know virtually nothing of his life before he began his three-year ministry. We do know that he was well-acquainted with Scripture, most likely tutored by his parents. Throughout the Gospels we see how he freely and succinctly referred to the spiritual… Read more »
April 12, 2019
Lenten Devotional: Easter Sunday
Sunday, April 21 Everything that has breath Psalm 150 On this day filled with shouts of “Alleluia, he is risen!” we come to the end of our journey into mindfulness through the Psalms. How fitting to close with the final song of the psalter, a majestic hymn of praise. Let’s read it in its… Read more »
April 7, 2019
Lenten Devotional: Fifth Week of Lent (Sun., Apr. 7 – Sat., Apr. 13)
Sunday, April 7 This week’s theme: Omnipresent Psalm 139 On the grounds of Maui’s Palapala Ho‘omau Congregational Church lies the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh. He was a man of extreme contrasts: a national hero, then a Nazi sympathizer; a consultant on war tactics, but also an environmentalist concerned with preserving species like the humpback… Read more »
April 5, 2019
Sightings
Seeing Jesus at the dentist A memory for Good Friday by Ken Rummer When I was still in elementary school, I had my first experience with fillings. It did not go well. The dentist gave me a shot to put my tooth to sleep. He said it would feel like a pinch but… Read more »
April 3, 2019
Hopeful Church
Are we leading with our whole brains? Overcoming half-brained leadership by N. Graham Standish Is your leadership whole-brained or merely half-brained? Even more, is the mainline church decline really a matter of our being a bit too half-brained? Back when I was in high school there was a book that was the rage for a… Read more »
March 31, 2019
Lenten Devotional: Fourth Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 31 – Sat., Apr. 6)
Sunday, March 31 This week’s theme: All that is within us Psalm 103 The Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in the mid-1600s, appears woodenly orthodox through the lens of history. But its first question and answer (edited here for inclusion) provide a beautiful preface for any journey of faith. Question: What is the chief end… Read more »
March 24, 2019
Lenten Devotional: Third Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 24 – Sat., Mar. 30)
Sunday, March 24 This week’s theme: Our bounteous provider Psalm 65 It originated in the mid-1500s, and today — nearly 500 years later — millions of Christian worshipers sing its familiar words each Sunday. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye heavenly hosts; praise… Read more »
March 22, 2019
Barn Boots and Blessings
Lenten ‘one mores’ Hope and love in the dark valley by Donna Frischknecht Jackson Even though I walk through the darkest valley … you are with me. — Psalm 23 It is Lent and I have found myself walking in one of the darkest valleys one can walk — the valley of death…. Read more »
March 19, 2019
The B-Flat Christian
Statue of “Christ the Redeemer,” Rio de Janeiro, Brazil What is a redeemer? Its original meaning may surprise you by Rebecca Lister But now, says the Lord— the one who created you, Jacob, the one who formed you, Israel: Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called… Read more »