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Staff Trax

I Miss Church

My family has not been to church in almost two years. It is not because we don’t believe in God, or had a falling out with leadership, or that we don’t like our church anymore, but because of COVID.

Before COVID, we were not casual churchgoers. We attended every week, unless someone was sick or the weather forced us to stay home. My daughter was baptized there, and my kids attended the…

Jesus’ Mission Statement

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
  because he has anointed me
   to bring good news to the poor.

The Light of Jesus

This week’s Gospel is the first section of the first chapter of the book of John. It is a fitting way to start the new year, because it will be 2022 by the time we read it in church this Sunday.

“John 1:1-18 is a poetic introduction of Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to using the Greek word Logos, meaning ‘The Word.’ This passage clearly describes Jesus as identical to…

Advent: A Season of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace

Here we are once again in December. Many people throughout the world are frantically shopping for gifts, decorating their homes, and planning holiday celebrations with loved ones. For Christians, Advent is a time to slow down. We wait in…

Celebrate This Oct. 31

This Sunday will be quite eventful. It is Reformation Sunday, Confirmation, and also Halloween.

Reformation is the anniversary of the day Martin Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther chose that date, the evening before All-Hallows Day (also known as All Saints Day), because he knew the…

Learning to Be Last

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37)

No one wants…

Back to School…on Time

Most Johnson County kids go back to school next week. My youngest starts on Thursday, and my oldest goes back Friday. Hopefully starting school on Friday the 13th won’t be unlucky. You might remember Friday the 13th in March 2020, when the kids were supposed to go back to school for one more day before spring break was to start but instead did not return in person for about…

You Can’t Go Home Again

I am sure you have heard the expression, “You can’t go home again.” That is something Jesus discovered when he returned to his hometown to teach. Sometimes you have to leave home to truly be appreciated and accepted. That is what Jesus found in this Sunday’s Gospel.

“[Jesus] came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue,…

All About Pentecost

This Sunday is Pentecost. We celebrate the birth of the church and wear red. But when I did a search on the internet for the word Pentecost, it was interesting to me that not only the Christian celebration came up, but also the Jewish one.

According to the book “Christianity for Dummies,” (yes, not the best title, but it…

Being Fed

Sunday’s Gospel reading is the story is when the risen Christ appears to the disciples. It is shortly after he appears on the road to Emmaus, and breaks and blesses bread with those he met on the road. Then he vanishes and appears near 11 of the disciples and their companions.

At first, the disciples are frightened, feeling like they have seen a ghost. Jesus comforts them by having them…

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