Dear Friends, One of the many ways in which the church is called to be countercultural is that we understand Easter not as a day or even as a single event but as a way of life. When the women—Mary, Mary, and Salome—went to Jesus’ tomb...
Dear Friends, Blessings abound! For starters, this week Calvary celebrates its 74th birthday. Happy Birthday to us! For several months already I have been thinking about our milestone 75th birthday next year and the celebration we will want to have to commemorate this momentous event. Every...
Dear Friends, What is your earliest memory of hearing or reading a Bible story? Do you remember receiving your first Bible? Who gave it to you and when? Who do you most associate with teaching stories from the Bible? Psalm 119 has a lot to say about...
Dear Friends, I woke up on Easter Monday with a heart overflowing with gratitude. First, for Erika and our legion of Moppers Extraordinaire: thank you. Without you, our Easter service would not have been possible. I shared part of the story of the Great Flood during...
Dear Friends, First and foremost, thank you for a wonderful day of worship on Sunday, followed by a dedicated and thorough assault on the dust and grime in the sanctuary and children’s Sunday school rooms! In addition, the cross was put up, the letters on the...
Dear Friends, Despite the fact that it is cold and rainy and rather miserable outside this morning, I feel the energy, warmth, and “aliveness” of spring. There are visible signs of it, of course—trees are budding (and so are people’s allergies.) I encounter more folks along...
Dear Friends, Daffodils are blooming, birds are singing, and Spring has officially arrived. I’m guessing I’m not the only one buoyed by signs of new life and better weather, even if the latter remains rather unpredictable and inconsistent. Still, April is coming and with it, Holy...
Dear Friends, At the end of last week, I was scrolling through news feeds when this headline jumped out at me (perhaps you saw it, too): “the American Psychological Association’s annual ‘Stress in America’ poll (published last Thursday) found that U.S. adults — already weary from...
Dear Friends, Ideas for sermons and sermon series can come from almost anywhere. There have been times when I read a book or had a conversation or was asked a question that proved to be the inspiration for a sermon. At other times, I felt the...
Dear Friends, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Perhaps you know this quote penned by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. But do you know the rest of it? The complete sentence is: “It was the best of...