The Importance of Sabbath in an Ever-Moving World

Over the last week or two, I have simply felt exhausted. Holy week certainly did not help with two separate funerals and five other services to attend to throughout the week. Combine any other personal chores, activities, or any other thing that needs doing and the week feels ever more like a train wreck. In reality, everything worked out okay and the world did not implode at any point, but the reality is that those kinds of moments in our lives when we feel the overwhelming amount of work to do,

Katharina von Bora

Katharina von Bora. That is the name of the woman who Martin Luther ended up marrying during the Reformation. Ordinarily, when one thinks of the Reformation, one may end up thinking primarily about people like: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Melancthon, King Henry the VIII, and so on. Far too often, women take the back seat in our history books and thoughts (I know they do for me). So for this newsletter, let’s explore Katharina’s life and legacy in the Reformation.

Prayer as Inbreaking Action of God’s Reign

“People are impelled to pray, we must do so. Prayer is an action as well as a supplication to the Lord that he will put us in that posture which is pleasing to him.”

This small snippet of Karl Barth on what it means to pray has been on my mind quite recently. I always try to avoid in my preaching human agency or action, so as not to make it seem like human action is more important than the actions that God has taken in the world.

Carrying the Spirit of Christmas

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”

You may have heard some version of this when watching any version of A Christmas Carol. This quote is spoken by Ebenezer Scrooge to the ghost of Christmas future, who shows him some quite unsavory realities that may come to pass if he does not change.

Let It Shine, Let It Shine, Let It Shine

“This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine; This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine; This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let is shine.” (This Little Light of Mine, an African American Spiritual, ELW 677, verse 1.)

This week, we hear Jesus say to his disciples, “You are the light of the world.

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