This week’s lectionary reflection focuses on Exodus 20:1-17 and Psalm 19, outlining God’s laws and our relationship with them. It discusses different approaches to rules, emphasizing the importance of understanding and following them. Pastor Mike uses the metaphor of car maintenance to illustrate the benefits of adhering to God’s rules and the support they provide during life’s challenges. … More Rules and that New Car Smell
As a nerdy hobby born of my doctoral dissertation, I am fascinated by the power of letters. I stumbled upon these remarkable words from St. Gregory of Nyssa in a letter to a friend circa 380 AD. He states so effusively how powerful some thoughtful words from a friend can be in a trying time. Check this out! … More ‘The Radiance in Your Letter’
“I read your letters over and over, to help remind me that I am not alone,” said one parishioner during the early months of the pandemic. Another said, “While I love a Sunday sermon, I felt these letters so much more deeply in my heart.” … More Wise Letters for Weary Souls
I love words. I especially love when God stoops down and kisses us through another’s words. The Word becomes flesh again and makes His presence known through a thoughtful card from a friend, or an encouraging chat over coffee, or a personal letter from a pastor. … More The Impress of a Friend’s Hand Upon His Letter
Dear Church, It pains and sickens me to post this photo, but this is where we find our nation at this moment. The worst part of Wednesday, in my opinion, was all the people carrying Jesus signs and crosses and dragging Jesus’ name into this display of hatred and evil. Last Wednesday morning, I headed … More Correct, Rebuke and Encourage
It is important to love one’s neighbor — but in America, individual freedom is often more prized than biblical admonitions. … More Wearing Masks, Loving Neighbors & the Mark of the Beast
The tell tale sign that someone has brushed up against God’s awesome presence is often this: They now walk with a spiritual limp. … More Wrestling with God
Every day we find ourselves back in Eden standing before the Tree of Temptation faced with two types of wisdom. Based on what I’m watching and reading in the media, we’ve set up a buffet line at the forbidden Tree. … More Satan’s Urinal & Forbidden Fruit
Let us seek to be a breath of fresh air with our words, not fire breathing dragons. As the wildfires burn uncontrollably across the west, we do well to ponder the fiery wisdom and warning of James on the power of the tongue. … More Don’t Fuel the Fire
This fall I will be writing pastoral letters to my congregation as part of my doctoral program. Seeking inspiration and models, I have been devouring letters from many spiritual writers such as Henri Nouwen and Eugene Peterson. I still love the olde time wisdom packed into Francois Fenelon’s letters (1651-1715). Here’s one written to someone who has … More Olde Tyme Letters Speak Today
This is a “kairos moment” for the white church and America that I pray doesn’t pass us by leaving us unchanged. … More Pastoral Letter: A ‘Kairos’ Moment for the American Church
“This is going to be the hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives,” Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams said yesterday. This is a sober note to begin Holy Week on. … More A Holy Week to Remember
What if as long as we are lifting up these warriors in prayer, we are gaining ground and holding back the enemy; but whenever we drop our hands and cease praying, the virus gains more ground? … More Quarantine Letters: Raise Your Arms!
The true mark of Christian love isn’t revealed merely when we have nothing to gain, but precisely when we have everything to lose. … More Quarantine Letters: Illusion of Civility
There are many lessons to take from the famous story of David and Goliath, but one is the illusion of strength. The COVID-19 virus, like David’s small stones, is revealing the true fragility of systems and structures we thought were so strong. … More Quarantine Letters: Illusion of Strength
The current COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the limits of our independence. Despite our cultural rhetoric, we are biologically, psychologically, and spiritually communal creatures. Autonomy is an illusion. From the very beginning, God designed us to exist interdependently. … More Quarantine Letters: Illusion of Independence
As the COVID-19 virus is spreads across our land and people practice social distancing, I’m reading about how the news of Jesus’ healing power spread so rapidly across Galilee, forcing Jesus to seek some social distance from the crushing crowds! … More Quarantine Letters: Get A Grip!
So much of our growth happens through pain, and that pain comes in two forms. Pain we choose is called a discipline, while pain we do not choose is called a trial. Neither kind should be wasted. … More Quarantine Letters: Illusion of Control
This spreading virus will reveal a lot about our national infrastructure, the strength of our healthcare system, the resilience of our economy, and the character and strength of our government leaders. Yet, for Christians, it will reveal just the “stuff” of which our faith is made. … More Quarantine Letters: Peter’s Challenge
Insofar as this pandemic can help us kick bad habits and establish new and healthier lifestyle rhythms, we are experiencing what I want to call a “holy disruption.” … More Quarantine Letters: Holy Disruption
We need calm hearts, ears tuned to God’s frequency and a mighty fortress when the world is coming unhinged, not when we’re meditating at a quiet retreat center! We need Jesus’ calming presence in our boat not when the sun is shining and the fish are biting, but when the storm is raging and the boat is sinking. … More Quarantine Letters: Be Still
I woke up this morning with the sunrise in my eyes, blinding me as I rolled over to turn off my alarm. I thought about the brightness of that sunrise and felt this giddy surge of excitement that I have good news to share with people who are afraid. … More Quarantine Letters: Soldiers of Light
During this COVID-19 outbreak, I’m taking up my electronic quill and ink, and continuing the long legacy of sending pastoral letters to the people of God living in uncertain times. … More Letters to the Church in Quarantine
As the Coronavirus spreads across the globe and with it the contagion of fear, I want to take up the shepherd’s pen and follow in a long line of letter writing pastors who sought to guide and encourage their sheep in times of trial and testing. … More Letters in Uncertain Times
We’re highlighting the ‘Wonderful Counselor’ attribute of God this week, and acknowledging our need for other wise counselors in our lives. Can’t afford a therapist? Don’t have time to schedule a session? Then seek wisdom in old letters and books, for instance, the spiritual letters of Fenelon (1651-1715) found online for free here. Who’s your favorite … More Wise Counsel from Old Letters
Jeremy L. Berg 