Category: Pastor’s Blog
-
Hopes & Dreams Part 1 – A God of Relationship
As part of my process to become an ordained minister in the ELCA, in 2016 I was required to write an essay focusing on my hopes and dreams for the church, where I see God at work in the world, and what I believe about our incredible God. Over the next few weeks I’ll be…
-
Learning Lutheran Part 2: Wrestling with our Faith
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance ~Proverbs 1:5 Something that brought me such joy this last year was our first part of the Learning Lutheran series we did through the fall and winter. These are membership classes, both for those considering membership at Bethany as well as…
-
Not My First Mother’s Day
The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Genesis 21:1-2 This week I am so thankful to be celebrating Mother’s day as a…
-
Journey through Genesis – Week 5
“Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” ~ Genesis 50:20 The story of Joseph and his brothers is one that many of us know well, it is a story that has been retold through film and…
-
Journeying into Genesis – Week 4
Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” ~Genesis 32:28 As promised in my last post on Genesis, even though by the time you are reading this it has been more than a month since we discussed Genesis…
-
Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ~Matthew 28:6 I am so sad that I am not at Bethany this week. I mean, I’m writing this weeks ahead of time, so I’m sure that on the day you read this I am home…
-
Journeying into Genesis – Week 3
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ~ Genesis 12:2 I know it’s been a few weeks since we completed our Journeying through Genesis series, but because of the busy-ness of Lent I wasn’t able to write…
-
Awkward Prayers – My Experiencing with “Stretch & Pray”
Therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20b When I was on retreat in January, one of the things that I discovered was a book titled “Stretch and Pray” by Murray D. Finck. And to be honest, when I peeked at the agenda for that day and saw “Stretch and Pray” on the schedule,…
-
Are you listening? – Hearing God’s Voice
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life ~ 1 John 1:1 I have never heard the voice of God. Well, at least not in the biblical sense.…