-
Devotion: Division, Diversity, Harmony?
One of my greatest joys in junior high and high school was being part of our school choirs. We were very good, and won awards as we competed against other choirs. When people go to see musical performances, they see a polished presentation. Having been involved in preparing for those performances, I know that the first… Continue reading
-
Devotion: Fear vs. Faith
Imagine that you’ve been given a writing assignment. You are to write in a typical form with an introductory paragraph stating your thesis, paragraphs supporting or developing your thesis, and a concluding paragraph. Your topic is: “Where fear and faith collide”. What would your main points be? In other words, how do you understand… Continue reading
-
Devotion: Persistent in Prayer
Prayer … Have you ever felt like the man in this picture when you’ve prayed? There are times when we are desperate, when we feel that we have no options … so, we pray. These are the times that St. John of the Cross said are the “dark nights of the soul”. As people of… Continue reading
-
Devotion: Jesus Makes A Difference
My apologies for being late with the devotion for this week. I left after worship on Sunday to head to Mar-Lu-Ridge Camp and Retreat Center with a few of our confirmation students. We joined confirmands from other congregations from the Metro DC Synod and the Delaware-Maryland Synod for a week of Confirmation Camp. For the devotions this… Continue reading
-
Devotion: And who is my neighbor?
You may know that I am working on my doctoral program through Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Through much of this past week while I was in St. Paul, we used fancy terminology about what the church is and what the church does, but much of it really boiled down to this question asked… Continue reading
-
Devotion: Is God Here, Too?
This week, I have been in three distinct cultures: Northern Virginia, Coastal North Carolina, and St. Paul, MN. I have talked with congregation members, people in life-and-death circumstances, a woman living in her car, and people with overwhelming utility bills. I have gone from living in our own comfortable, climate-controlled home to living out of… Continue reading
