2 Corinthians 4:15:

“Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

The theme for this year’s Commitment Sunday is “give thanks.” As we approach Thanksgiving it is fitting to talk a...

I can’t say that I have an all-time favorite hymn, but there are several that I’m always glad to sing.

There are the standards: "Built on Rock," "A Mighty Fortress," "The Church’s One Foundation." Those are hymns that have been around for generations, not only in the Lu...

This is a letter that is intended to be given to my chaplain at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL. I graduated from the College in 2003...a few years after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I know first hand the power of community when the world seems to be a frighteni...

I sometimes have dreams that leave me tired and troubled in the morning. I can rarely remember details. I just remember that I had a "really weird dream." 

Sometimes I have dreams that I remember, and unlike the wise souls of the Bible, I have no idea what they mean.

Thi...

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

In his book Small Creatures and Ordinary Places, Essays on Nature, Allen M. You...

Henry and Noah were excited to carry the cross on Sunday morning. It was fun to watch their excitement. I understood it. In the church of my childhood, you could acolyte starting in 7th grade, but couldn't be a crucifer until 10th grade, because the cross was heavy. Bu...

St. Francis of Assisi - the patron saint of animals and animal lovers. But who was this guy that was born way back in the 1180’s well before the Reformation? Francis was born into a very wealthy Italian family that made their money trading silk. His family indulged his...

Here’s a push for reading outside the box.

After a random comment that the letter of Jude is seldom (ever?) read, our Wednesday Bible study group decided to read it. It’s short. It wasn’t edifying. But it mentioned the book of Enoch. Enoch is obviously not in our Bible,...

Do you ever feel like you are just staring at a blank page? Writers might know what I am talking about - a page that is supposed to have a ton of writing on it but has nothing. Not the page of someone with writer’s block, but a page ready for the first word of your nex...

I like how little things can make you smile and change your day,

On my way to church Sunday, I stopped at a red light. A gentleman crossed in front of me pushing his young son in a stroller. The man did not acknowledge me at all, but halfway across the road the little b...