Posts tagged with ‘Bible’

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Sunday, Dec. 16: Get baptized with holy fire!

by Trina Kleist

John says: Get baptized!               As we prepare for the Christmas baby, suddenly John the Baptist appears in our readings. Get baptized!, he cries. Because another one is coming – Jesus – and he will prune away everything that hinders your spiritual growth. So start now. Live your life worthy of the calling God has called […]

Sunday, Dec. 9: Prepare the Way for God!

by Trina Kleist

This is the time to prepare!           God calls us to prepare during Advent – the time spanning the four Sundays before Christmas. What do we prepare for? For God to come into our hearts. For God’s kingdom to break into our world. Meanwhile we might wonder: Where is God, anyway? John recalled the words of […]

Sunday, Dec. 2: It’s Advent – Start watching!

by Trina Kleist

‘Advent’ means ‘God is drawing near’!      10 a.m. worship today – ONE SERVICE ONLY! When we watch for God-signs, we start noticing all kinds of things. Like, it’s hard to wait. Hard to trust. Where is God, anyway? Jesus told his friends, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, […]

Sunday, Nov. 25: It’s OK. God’s in Charge!

by Trina Kleist

But God’s “in charge” doesn’t look like the world’s “in charge”!           We sure want God to stand up and be in charge when times get scary. Where is God when fires ravage a town? Why didn’t God stop the car wreck from happening? We want God to respond according to our ideas of what it […]

Sunday, Nov. 18: Scary time? God Time!

by Trina Kleist

God calls us — especially in scary times! God’s people lived in scary times back then. We live in scary times, too! No, God doesn’t make it all go away. But God’s Holy Spirit guides us through chaos and fear. Will we choose to follow that Spirit? Let God embrace us? Or will we allow […]

Sunday, Nov. 4: One Worship Service @ 10am Today!

by Trina Kleist

Death sucks – and God gets that! God understands that death lies at the root of our pain as humans. Today is All Saints Sunday. We remember both the saintly believers of our faith heritage and also our own beloved people who have left us. We gather for ONE WORSHIP service at 10 a.m. today, […]

Sunday, Oct. 21: Who do you serve?

by Trina Kleist

Do you serve God, or the world? Jesus came to serve the very least among humanity. Today’s Bible readings contrast serving the world with our ego at the center, with serving the world with God at our center. Oppression, violence, injustice and living for immediate pleasure contrast with obeying God’s will. Jesus said to his […]

Sunday, Oct. 7: Care for children, be like children!

by Trina Kleist

ONE WORSHIP SERVICE today at 10am           More this week about children! We can start to see the pattern in our Gospel stories recently: First, Jesus tells us to believe in him with simple, open acceptance of a child. At the same time, Jesus also seems to ask us grown-ups to care for the little ones […]

Sunday, Sept. 30: Power In God’s Name!

by Trina Kleist

Do the good you do in God’s powerful Name!        The name of God is so incredibly powerful! So much so, that God’s second commandment to us, of the Big 10, warns us not to use it lightly. But God does want us to use his name to heal, declare his praise, and act with love […]

Sunday, Sept. 23: Welcome God like a Child!

by Trina Kleist

The child in you yearns for God’s love!      A child is so vulnerable! People can be mean or take advantage of the child. And yet, that’s how Jesus says we should be toward God. More, God asks us to welcome children and lead them to Him. Taking (the child) into his arms, Jesus said to […]