​ Advent Peace Advent IV; December 18, 2016 Luke 1:26-45 I was a teenager and was out caroling with my church. The songs are always fun, and it's great to go up and down streets singing for no particular purpose other than the joy of it. I remember at one point walking alongside my pastor and asking him about the virgin birth of Jesus. Although I w...

​The Longest Night Service has been an important part of my Advent since I first attended one in the early 1990s. Soon after I started hosting it at the church I was serving. It is traditionally held on the longest night of the year; hence the name. It can be held at other times and is sometimes called a "Blue Christmas" service. The invitation is ...

​ Advent Joy Advent III; December 11, 2016 Isaiah 61:1-11 Okay, to lead into the subject, I'll answer a rather trivial question: Why is one candle on the Advent wreath pink? A Sunday School child once said, "Because Mary and Joseph were hoping for a girl." In reality, a tidbit of Christian liturgy. Both Advent and Lent use purple as the seasonal co...

​ Advent Hope Advent I; November 27, 2016 Daniel 6:6-27 You may already know the story of Daniel in the lions' den and you just heard it read to you, but it's a good story worth retelling. Here's what I'm looking for in the story: reasons for hope. The difference between hope and optimism, I believe, is that if I am optimistic then I simply decide ...

​ Where Is It Written? Christ the King; November 20, 2016 Jeremiah 31:31-34 "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts." What a lovely, inspiring notion. If only that day would come. If only we didn't have to have written laws, telling us what speed to drive for the sake of everyone's safety, what you're allowed to put into...

​ Pastor Bob's Building Blog November 16, 2016 Your Session took a bold step last evening: they committed us to a contract with Lund Ross for $1,853,946. Many of you work for companies and organizations that have had much larger building projects than that, but I'm still a little stunned by the scope of this project. Let me catch you up on progress...

​ Holy One, Here Am I Pentecost XXVI (O. T. 33); November 13, 2016 Isaiah 6:1-8 How do you think the Prophet said those words accepting God's call to him?      HERE AM I! SEND ME!      Umm…. Here am I. Send me?      (Look around.) I don't see anybody else here. I'll do it. You can probably think of other...

​ God's Sense of Family All Saints; November 6, 2016 Jonah 1:1-17, 3:1-10 I co-taught a class on the Book of Jonah at our Synod School last summer; a major point we emphasized is how very funny the story is. Jesus told some funny stories to drive his ideas home, and the Book of Jonah is one of the funniest stories in the Old Testament. So it should...

​ David's House Pentecost XXIII (O. T. 30); October 23, 2016 II Samuel 7:1-17 Before talking about this story, I want to say something about why you should care about it. Two reasons I can think of (you can probably think of others). First, it is a promise to David that is central to how we understand his role in the Bible, and David is a key figur...

​ Hannah's Song Pentecost XXII (O. T. 29); October 16, 2016 I Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20; 2:1-10 The song Hanna sings in I Samuel 2 might have stirred a number of thoughts in you. For those who know the Gospel of Luke very well, you probably noticed how much it sounds like the Song of Mary, called the Magnificat (Luke 1:46b-55). Well, guess where Mary go...

​ Dancing at the Calf Pentecost XXI (O. T. 28); October 9, 2016 Exodus 32:1-14 I've decided today to go all expository on you: to talk through what was read to you and elaborate on the story. This year we get two pieces of the mighty Exodus story; in the Narrative Lectionary other pieces show up other years. Last week's piece was the Passover and t...

​ Pastor Bob's Building Blog October 12, 2016 Wow, I haven't written one of these in a while. And I still don't have as much to write about as I was hoping… still, it's time for an update. We gathered in the Courtyard after worship on October 2 to break ground for the project. Max Petersen handled the shovel used in every groundbreaking in thi...

​ Providence and Grace Pentecost XIX (O. T. 26); September 25, 2016 Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-34; 50:15-21 You heard in the first part of the story how Jacob, also called Israel, favored Joseph over his other sons, and how that got Joseph sold into slavery. If you know the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , then you know the rest of t...

Faith Like Abraham's Pentecost XVIII (O. T. 25); September 18, 2016 Genesis 15:1-6 My theology teacher in seminary told us what it means to have faith. He was working in their backyard, and his young son had crawled up onto the roof of the garage. When the son realized that David had seen him, the son cried out, "Daddy, catch me!" and jumped. David...

​ "Where are you?" Pentecost XVII (O. T. 24); September 11, 2016 Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-9 The Narrative Lectionary, which we are using this year, has four different cycles of readings: one for each Gospel. And the Sunday after Labor Day it always starts at the beginning, but it's not the same beginning every year. One year it is Noah, another y...

​ ​Note to readers: The version printed differs from the recorded version in several places. I made some changes that morning in response to a news story, but decided to put the original here on our website. "And do not bring us to the time of trial." Pentecost XVI (O. T. 23); September 4, 2016 Luke 11:2-4 I wonder what I can tell you folks about t...

​ "Give us each day our daily bread." Pentecost XIV (O. T. 21); August 21, 2016 Luke 11:2-4 A lot of what we call the Lord's Prayer is challenging or difficult. But, from our point of view, perhaps the silliest line in the prayer is "Give us this day our daily bread." If you think it through, nothing in that line conforms to the way people think ab...

​ Pastor Bob's Building Blog August 23, 2016 The day draws near when I can unscrew that shovel from its plaque and we can start digging. Well, not just yet: the end of September or beginning of October. But it's nearer and the progress of your Project Management Team helps me feel it near. We have chosen materials and colors for carpet, flooring, c...

​ Job Replies Pentecost XI (O. T. 18); July 31, 2016 Job 38:25-27, 41:1-8, 42:1-6 Last week I introduced God's aria at the end of the book of Job: the Lord God sings rapturously from the whirlwind about the morning stars and the sea, and then reflects on sunlight and snow. There is this brief piece (38:25-27) from a long section about the rain (Not...

​ "Where were you?" Pentecost X (O. T. 17); July 24, 2016 Job 31:35-37, 38:1-11 In working with you through the Book of Job this month, I think that I have not done justice to Job's agony. He has experienced great loss. He was wealthy; all his possessions were taken from him. He was healthy; he is suffering from a terrible skin disease. He had a go...