ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 17, 2022I am preaching from the Book of James this Sunday. It was a book that the 16th Century reformer, Martin Luther, was ready to cut from his Bible. He was fearful it presented what is called a theology of works righteousness. To put it another way, you and I have to earn our way into heaven. I’ve read the Book of James often, and I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 16, 2022Rev. Bruce Barkhauer heads up the Center for Faith and Giving for our denomination. He puts together some wonderful material for rethinking what it means to bring all of our gifts to God’s service. Recently, a line in one of his prayers struck me. The line was: Still our squirrelly minds, help us settle into this time, focused and eager. I love the request for
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 15, 2022Over the last 30 years, in some fashion or another, I have helped lead a Stewardship Campaign for the church I was serving. Some of these campaigns were highly organized with wonderful themes, while others were more low-key. Whenever you have a budget and bills and employees, you’ve got a figure out a way of raising money. Yet one of the cautions when it comes
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 14, 2022How many times have you said, “I’m going to start that project tomorrow” only to see tomorrow come and go without even a nod of recognition toward the project? Maybe it’s not a project so much as a new habit or change in behavior. When our lives have been structured around a certain routine, and the comfort is there even if it is not the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 13, 2022Today (and then again on Thursday), I will begin teaching a class entitled Breath Prayer. It is based on a book (same name) by Christine Valters Paintner. A breath prayer is sort of what it sounds like. I think most of us are familiar with breathing. There is a rhythm or cadence to our breathing, and alongside the rise and fall, the inhale and the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 11, 2022Today in worship, we are going to be looking at the 12th chapter of Romans. It is a wonderful section, emphasizing the transformed life and what that life looks like both inside the community of faith and outside. Paul writes, “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” I was intrigued to learn that the Greek word we translate as “contribute” is
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 10, 2022Have you ever been on the other side of an act of genuine kindness? I’m talking about something a bit more demanding than someone holding the door for you or letting you sneak into the 12 or less checkout line with 18 items. What concerns me are the acts of kindness I did not notice. Even if there are many excellent excuses for why I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 9, 2022In Paul’s Second Letter to the Church in Corinth, he wrote about a collection, a special offering for the church in Jerusalem. This section of the letter appears to be a fund-raising request made initially by the leadership in Jerusalem. We hear about this request in Galatians 2 where Paul talked about visiting Jerusalem and receiving a blessing for his missionary work to the Gentiles.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 8, 2022If-Then statements are generally unhealthy in religion, even used sometimes in abusive ways. In Proverbs 3, we read the words: “Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce…” I love those words, and they make me think about how I try to honor God with everything I am, everything I own and everything I do. There are definitely