Last night we enjoyed hosting a neighborhood block party with our friends at Lenexa United Methodist. The party was held in between our churches, in the parking lot, in the shade — whew! There was a large bounce house, smooth jazz music playing, smoking barbecue from the new Santa Fe barbecue restaurant, cool homemade ice cream, and space for people to come together around tables.
Posted by tgraham |
The second time Jesus cleared the temple is in Matthew 21:14-16. After witnessing Jesus heal the sick and the blind, it was the children who shouted, “Hosanna to the son of David!”. The priests were indignant and asked Jesus if he heard them. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?’ ”. Jesus was quoting from…
Posted by hlewis |
Do you have time? Can you help? When are you available? I’m guessing you’re as bombarded with these questions as I am, and I am guilty of asking them a lot. Yet, I seem to be surrounded with people at Salem who are happy to help, thank goodness, as leading a church temporarily without a pastor requires teamwork! We are so blessed to have such dedicated members of Council, team leaders, and staff…
Posted by svanbaale |
School has started and Labor Day is fast approaching. Where has the summer gone? It has been quite an eventful one for Salem!
As I picture fall, I see a dirt path covered in leaves that can head in a multitude of directions when a sudden gust of wind approaches. Which way will the leaves blow?
There is so much opportunity for Salem now — let’s get to know our Salem family and neighbors.…
By now, you have probably read the letter from Council listing all the happenings at Salem since Jan. 1. I started as office administrator in December 2018, and it’s been a fun learning the office admin duties (big shout-out and thank you to Kathy K.) and being a small part of the exciting new directions.
But as of yet, I haven’t attended a Sunday worship. I want to go. I think about going…
I love this time of year. You can’t get on any social media without seeing many pictures of kiddos heading to school for the first time this school year. They stand on their porches with signs, some are captured heading to a bus stop, or standing with their new teacher in their classroom. In these pictures you can see kiddos who are buzzing with excitement, those who look a little nervous around…
For the past ten years, Jill and I have had the pleasure of being a part of this faith community. It has been an absolute joy to be your pastor, and I thank you for allowing me to be an integral part of your lives. For the longest time, my hope and my prayer was that this would be my last call and that I would be here until I retired, but I think you all know me well enough to also know that I never…
Posted by dwhetter |
Our Gospel story today is often titled the “Parable of the Rich Fool,” but before we just skip over the accusation made against this man and talk about what this means for us today, I think it is critical that we understand why God calls this man a fool. Was it wrong for the man to want to store up his riches? Was it wrong for the man to save his abundance for the future? Does God think it is…
Posted by hlewis |
Have you ever tried to make something happen, and no matter what you did or how long you struggled, it never worked out? Then later, under different circumstances, what you thought you wanted happened differently? I have heard so many stories of couples struggling to have a child, and when they finally adopted a child, they got pregnant. Maybe because the pressure was gone … or because they had…
Posted by dwhetter |
Prayer in the Gospel of Luke is an important spiritual practice. In fact, it is mentioned more than 60 times in Luke. In this Gospel we are told of Jesus praying at his baptism (3:21); Jesus praying before selecting the twelve (6:12); Jesus praying on the mountain before the transfiguration (9:28, 29); and in our story today, Jesus was praying before the disciples asked him to teach them to pray…