John 6:35, Psalm 27:4, John 4:1-26, Luke 10:38-42, Psalm 139:13-14, Ephesians 3:17-19, Psalm 63:1-4
What is it then that I love when I love you? Not bodily beauty, and not temporal glory, not the clear shining light, lovely as it is to our eyes, not the sweet melodies of many-moded songs, nor the so...
John 12:1-8, Mark 14:1-2, Matthew 26:3-13, John 11:45, Luke 7:44-47, Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, Luke 7:40, John 11:50-53, Luke 24:41-43, John 21:10-14, Acts 10:40-41, John 12:7, Philippians 2:6-8, Romans 6:1-10
Preaching commentary Introduction This narrative is slightly changed from the Synoptic accounts. Matthew and Mark’s Gospels place this narrative two days prior to the Passover (Matt: 26:6-13; Mark ...
John 12:1-8, Mark 14:1-2, Matthew 26:3-13, John 11:45, Luke 7:44-47, Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, Luke 7:40, John 11:50-53, Luke 24:41-43, John 21:10-14, Acts 10:40-41, John 12:7, Philippians 2:6-8, Romans 6:1-10
Introduction This narrative is slightly changed from the Synoptic accounts. Matthew and Mark’s Gospels place this narrative two days prior to the Passover (Matt: 26:6-13; Mark 14:1). Three Evangelist...
In the north of England, there's a beautiful garden. It's full of delicate wildflowers, extravagant blossoms, verdant climbing vines, and tumbling water features. Like so many gems of English ...
Jeremiah 17:7-8, John 15:4-5, Matthew 23:27-28, Isaiah 58:11, Ezekiel 36:26-27
Every year at the end of November, my husband, Ike, and I load the kids in the car and drive to the nearest Christmas tree lot. We are committed “real tree” people—not to be confused with “fake tree” ...
Exodus 30:22–25, Genesis 8:20–21, Song of Solomon 1:3, John 12:1-8, 2 Corinthians 2:15, Psalm 141:2
Have you seen The Good Place ? You should. The afterlife comedy TV show, starring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, offers a quirky take on heaven and hell which offers plenty of grist for the mill fo...
Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:1-23, Isaiah 6:9-10, Isaiah 6:9-10, John 9:39-41, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:18
You called, shouted, broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you; I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst; you...
Genesis 25:29-34 , Exodus 16:2-4, Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Luke 15:11-24, John 4:13-14 , Psalm 63:1
To crave and to have are as like as a thing and its shadow. For when does a berry break upon the tongue as sweetly as when one longs to taste it, and when is the taste refracted into so many hues and ...
The Forming of a Memory Before we truly remember anything, it starts as an experience. It is a moment when our senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch) interact with the world around us. Those ...
In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to lis...
Genesis 2:7, Romans 8:10-11, John 16:13, Isaiah 11:2, Galatians 5:22-23
Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures, spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures, glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us. Composer of all ...
The creation of food, tongues, and the human digestive system is the product of infinite wisdom knitting the world together in a harmonious whole. The symphony of glory that sounds from the triune bei...
Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, Isaiah 6:3, John 1:9-10, Colossians 1:16-17
"God's joy," said by the Persian mystic Rumi, "moves from unmarked box to unmarked box, from cell to cell. As rain water down into flower bed. As roses up from ground. Now it looks ...
Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:26-28, Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, John 6:35
Every Communion is an embodiment of God’s grace. We hear God’s grace in the words that are spoken. But we also see it, hear it, touch it, and taste it in the bread and wine. God in his kindness, knowi...
Matthew 17:1-2, Matthew 17:5, John 4:1-42, John 4:28-30, John 4:39, John 4:13-14, John 1:29-34
There’s a story told in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers…Abba Lot said to Abba Joseph, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far ...
John 3:1-17, Ephesians 1:13-14, Acts 8:26-40, Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 8:14-16
ONE: People of God, Rejoice! Our Eternal and Beautiful God is near The One who gives us new birth by water and Spirit The One who names us beloved The One who delights in our very existence Come and w...
Toes curled at the edge before jumping from the plane Bodies crouched in position before bursting from the gate Ballerinas posed behind the curtain front and center stage A child perched on sh...
Galatians 2:20, Acts 9:1-19, Genesis 45:1-15, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:12-14, John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23
Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness, love, gentleness, fellowship and endurance...
Exodus 31:2-5, Isaiah 44:3-4, Zechariah 4:6-10, John 14:26, James 5:7-8, Psalm 1:2-3
Holy Spirit You are not just a whirlwind in the desert a tempest in a teapot You are also here in the slow growth of learning a nearly imperceptible accrual of wisdom Holy Spirit Inspire us from th...
Philippians 2:14-16, Romans 8:9-11, Acts 4:13, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 John 1:5-7, John 17:20-23
Have you ever met someone and known instantly, or at least guessed, that they were a fellow believer? When I was in college, I lived abroad for a year in Germany. We always had Fridays off so that we ...
Psalm 19:9-10, Luke 4:16-21, Acts 8:26-39, Nehemiah 8:1-12, Isaiah 55:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, John 14:26
The Word of the LORD is true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb. As we turn to your Scripture, s...
Psalm 119:105, Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5 , Matthew 5:14-16, Luke 1:78-79
Leader: God of promise, God of Mystery, you have sent a messenger to awaken us. All: May the promise of your dawn awaken our hearts and minds. May the light of your promise g...
Leader: O Holy Love, food of our souls, living spring of the water of life, we worship you. All: Our souls thirst for your presence; and we hunger for your grace. O Christ, Bread of Life, sown...
John 4:7-26, Isaiah 6:1-8, Revelation 4:11, Matthew 22:37, Ezekiel 36:26-27
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you,...
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Acts 9:1-19, Matthew 3:16-17, Ephesians 3:16-17, Romans 8:11, Psalm 139:7-10, John 14:16-17
To you. O God, glory to you! Heavenly Ruler, Comforter, Spirit of truth, Come and dwell within us. You who are everywhere and who fills all things. Treasury of all good and giver of life, Come,...