Penny had just started her position as a youth director in a town that was new to her, and she was excited about an invitation to play church league volleyball. She...

What does confession look like? Often it is limited to the weekly collective confession we offer in worship, with words chosen by someone else. Even if time is allotted in worship...

We have seen it in others: A person makes an impulsive decision, and that decision leads to another and another. One wrong turn begets a second poor choice and a third,...

The apostle Paul closes this prayer to the church in Ephesus by giving thanks that humanity is able “to accomplish abundantly far more” with God than without. Abundant life, Paul says,...

We live in a polarized world. With each election cycle and church council meeting it feels like more people are finding reasons to hate and separate themselves from one another. Whether...

After the large crowd was miraculously fed and leftovers were still spilling from baskets, the scripture tells us the people “wanted to force [Jesus] to be their king.” Jesus had fed...

In this chapter of the fourth Gospel, Jesus reveals just how far the generosity of God extends. When Jesus and the disciples encounter a large crowd, Jesus sees an opportunity to...

The story of David and Bathsheba is a quintessential example of human desire superseding compassion and self-control. David commits adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers. Instead of fessing...

While lament can be cathartic, it is important not to remain in a state of “everything is horrible” all the time. Lament is the release that opens the door to hope....

Psalm 14 is a lament, a passionate expression of deep and heartfelt emotion. The psalmist says their feelings out loud. There is something special about that. It is not sugar-coated or...