by Hans Jorgensen | Aug 11, 2023 | Devotions
I love the passage from 1 Kings 19 that is appointed for Sunday. The prophet Elijah is on the run because powerful leaders threaten to kill him. So he goes up Mount Horeb, and there has a powerful experience. God promises to come, and there is a strong wind, an...
by Hans Jorgensen | Aug 3, 2023 | Devotions
Isaiah 55 has a verse we’ll hear this Sunday: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” Those questions always get me. I often spend money on things which do not feed or nourish me. There are so many...
by Liesl Spitz | Jul 27, 2023 | Devotions
This evening I get to see one of my favorite musicals, “Into the Woods,” and perhaps my favorite song from any musical, “No One Is Alone.” The song comes when, after disastrous consequences for each lead character’s individual “wish” coming true, those who remain...
by Liesl Spitz | Jul 14, 2023 | Devotions
This week we hear in Matthew Jesus’ parable of the sower, in which a farmer scatters seed on rocky ground, thorns, and good soil. The seed in good soil comes up and bears fruit, while the others are eaten, scorched, or choked out. What strikes me about this parable,...
by Liesl Spitz | Jul 8, 2023 | Devotions
As we read through the Gospel of Matthew this summer and hear words from Jesus that are often harsh, it’s helpful to remember what’s at stake for Jesus. Jesus is speaking to those in privilege within his own faith community whose hardness of heart makes God’s word...
by Hans Jorgensen | Jun 23, 2023 | Devotions
Paul wrote to the people in Rome about the mystery of baptism in Romans 6. Paul said that in baptism we are joined to Christ in death so we may be raised to walk in newness of life. Each day, Martin Luther counseled, we can be renewed as we wake by remembering our...
by Hans Jorgensen | Jun 15, 2023 | Devotions
In the gospel of Matthew, as we will hear on Sunday, Jesus sees how the crowds were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” So Jesus chooses 12 from among the disciples to be “apostles,” or ones sent out. To bring healing. To bring teaching and...
by Hans Jorgensen | Jun 8, 2023 | Devotions
Jesus had a way of upsetting people, especially those who preferred a secure sense of order. In the gospel reading from Matthew 9 that we will hear on Sunday, Jesus calls a tax collector named Matthew. Why not someone more admirable or moral than that? Jesus brought...
by Hans Jorgensen | Jun 1, 2023 | Devotions
When we look at the heavens, we see stars that are light-years distant from us. When we study the intricacies of leaves, we learn of photosynthesis that sustains life. When we listen to children, we hear life’s movement in real time. Each of these offers a chance to...
by Liesl Spitz | May 25, 2023 | Devotions
Whenever I read the Pentecost story in Acts, I am transported back to 2020 and what it was like to be church in those first months of the pandemic. A number of congregants had graciously said “yes” when we asked you to share in different languages for our Acts reading...
