Restoring All Things The story of the restoration of Peter is a subtle, profound reflection on the gracious nature of Christ – the disciple who denies Jesus is restored in love. This is, of course, the very nature of the whole of Christ’s ministry. Christ’s restoration of Peter is our own story and Christ’s imperative to Peter is ours as…
Not Like We Imagine As we begin Holy Week, we join the procession as Jesus enters Jerusalem. We know this story well – the crowds of children singing and praising God, the palm branches waving, the celebration of the coming triumph of Christ. But, as with many stories of Scripture, this one may not have been like we imagine. And…
POV The parable of the forgiving father (usually called the ‘Prodigal Son’) is a lesson in God’s gracious forgiveness and reconciliation. We know that story – the son who runs away and slinks back home, destitute, and the father who runs to greet him an restore him to the family. But the story ends with another character – the brother…
Could & Should The prophet Isaiah reminds the people of Israel what can and will be – that God is moving to bring the fullness of life to the people. Jesus uses a strange illustration about a fig tree to remind his disciples of God’s sustaining grace. And in the midst of trials and tribulations, we are reminded that it…
Who You Truly Are The strange story of Jesus’ transfiguration might best be understood as a revelation – Jesus is not transformed into something new, but is revealed in the fullness of his divinity. The revelation of Jesus’ nature also points us to an understanding of what spiritual growth is – a revelation of who we truly are. Read Luke…
To Love, to Resist Jesus tells us to love our enemies. But does that mean to sit passively as they do harm to us and our neighbors? Or is Jesus inviting us to see a new way of living with our opponents? How are Christians called to confront the wrongs of this world with love? Read Luke 6:27-38 and Genesis 45:3-11,…
Hooray! (Oh…uh oh.) Hooray! (Oh… uh oh.) We love the blessings of God! And we love the stories of God raising up the outcast, and casting down the haughty. But what happens when we’re on the wrong side of the upside down Kingdom? What happens when Jesus speaks woe to us instead of blessings? Is there mercy for the villains…
Here We Are, Lord When we think of ‘call stories’ we might think of individuals called by God to a particular purpose – the prophets of the Hebrews, people called to a religious vocation, or maybe a story of personal salvation. And indeed, there is an abundance of these stories. But we often miss the fact that every individual call…
“Love and Truth (Can Get You in Trouble)” We’ve been sold a false notion of love – that love is about happy feelings and is reserved for a few special someones. But love is a divine gift, and its fullness and depth are transformative. But, of course, human beings resist transformation. We know that to be true in our own…
The Body of Christ We, the Church, are the Body of Christ – gifted for the Gospel work of proclaiming God’s love. Sometimes we know what our gifts are and can claim them, and sometimes our work as the Church is to see and lift up one another’s gifts. Join us as Rev. Brett Pinder, the Oregon-Idaho Conference Strategist for…
For the Common Good You’ve probably heard the passage from 1 Corinthians that highlights the variety of gifts among God’s people. You’ve maybe been part of a class or taken a quiz to discover which spiritual gift(s) you have. Buried in the middle of this passage is an important phrase that we might overlook – and it gives us the…
Beloved, Be Love Jesus’ baptism models what it means to be incorporated into the Body of Christ and into our belovedness. But just as Jesus’ baptism initiated his incarnational ministry, so our baptism calls us to ministry in the world in real and tangible ways. We are called to BE love in action. And one way that we embody love…