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Staff Trax

Love is Love. God is Love.

If you haven’t heard about the recent United Methodist Church meeting and decision, here’s some info: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/us/united-methodists-vote.html.

Many I know who are part of the UMC are reeling based on the decisions made by their denomination. Most Methodists I’ve…

Holy Living: Love Your Enemy

Last week we started reading what we call Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain.” This is a series of teachings, beginning with the Beatitudes, which we read last week, that Jesus offers his disciples that are intended to help his disciples understand a way of living that is different from the ways of this world. As I noted last week, these teachings offer us a way to live “holy lives.” And today,…

Love Your Enemies

This past Sunday, we heard Jesus begin his Sermon on the Plain with Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, Luke 6:17-26. As I noted in my sermon, the Beatitudes were not intended to offer an abstract way of living; they were “Jesus’ way of offering us a very specific ways of holy living.”

And now, this week, we will hear Jesus offer some very specific ways of living that probably,…

The Choice is Ours

Our Gospel text today is the beginning of Luke's version of Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount." Like Matthew, it begins with beatitudes and ends with a parable about building a house on a sound foundation. Unlike Matthew, it’s much shorter, and takes place on a plain, not on a mountainside; we call it the “Sermon on the Plain.”

Now, as I have done the past couple of weeks, I think it is…

Choose to Be a Blessing

This Sunday we’ll hear Jesus encourage those who are poor and hungry, telling them they will be blessed and satisfied. He then goes on to warn those who are rich and full, that they may not receive those comforts later. (Luke 6:20-26) It’s a great time to focus on love, humility, and compassion, don’t you think?

Before Jesus speaks, Luke writes about how power goes out of Him when…

Catchers of People

So, how many of you woke up today and said to yourself, "Today, I will be an evangelist!". No one? Well, I guess that doesn't surprise me, but you know, week after week, we end our time of worship with something like, “Go in peace, share the Good News!” and in return, we shout back “Thanks be to God.” In less fancy terms, it is as if at the end of the worship we are saying, “Go, evangelize…

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Luke 4:21-30 Common English Bible (CEB)

He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Everyone was raving about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?”

Then Jesus said to them, “Undoubtedly, you will…

Mission Possible

Today, we got the rest of the story! When we ended our reading last week, all was well. Jesus had read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah on the Sabbath. In the reading we heard the words of the prophets say, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let…