Nancy Brody was called to serve as pastor of Messiah Parish in Halifax, PA. Her congregations are named Messiah Lutheran Church (Fisherville) and St. Peter (Fetterhoff’s).
“We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and move in light of what they suffer.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This quote reminds me everyday of Christ’s compassion and consideration for all parties, which is why it hangs where I must see it.
What Comes as Standard Equipment for Anyone Calling Themselves a Christian? As you know, today is Trinity Sunday. And since my husband and I recently got a new car and I’ve been trying to read the manual, I’d like us to consider what safety features come as standard equipment in the most basic model. Not…
How excited I was to find two apps that would really come in handy. One was a sleep timer for music and the other was a fitness monitor. As it turned out, I never installed either one. I could not accept the terms and conditions of use. In today’s passage, Jesus asks for obedience (willingness to accept God’s terms) in order for us to gain the most benefit from the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. It’s absolutely free.
There’s a set of keys offered to us in today’s gospel text that we (and the disciples) are challenged to find: the key to knowing peace rather than fear, the key to being able to trust another person, and the key to offering forgiveness. Finding the keys to discipleship is a necessary step in our quest to travel down the road.
We are very familiar with the scene and the characters in today’s gospel. We think we know them. There is much that has been said regarding them. But, none of the details in the story irrefutably support the theories.Theories that have long been perpetuated about who, where and when this scene takes place. Therefore, I…
Today’s readings once again contrast the realm of humans with the realm of God. They contrast our perspective with God’s, help us see God in everyday circumstances and to discover the many ways that Grace shows up.
God is great at teaching through paradoxes, things that at first, seem totally absurd. Jesus does his best to explain how they are true. The contradictory proposition of Ash Wednesday is how ashes not only cleanse, but prepare space to light a new fire.
We pray The Lord’s Prayer encouraging God to “bring on” the kingdom with a nudging invitation. What if God’s Kingdom is already among us? Perhaps in trying to create our own version of heaven on earth, we miss what God has planned .
Today’s sermon is not so much focused on the gospel text as the way that God approaches people where they are and enables them to contrast who they are and what they do with who God is and what God’s intentions are for each.
New Day Sermon Epiphany 2 Ritual cleansing prepared an individual to participate in something sacred (like worship or a wedding ceremony). Purity’s goal was to open a vertical channel to God, the source of everything sacred. Jesus’ miracle of water to wine created a link between religious practice and the sacredness of horizontal relationships.
