My family had such an incredible Thanksgiving break with LOTS of tree decorating, eating, playing games, snuggling, watching Christmas movies, snowball fighting, cooking, baking, eating more — It was awesome!
This week’s scripture is all about watching for signs — signs of Jesus on Earth. When I think of Jesus, I think of love. I saw so many examples of love on Earth this weekend.…
Posted by hlewis |
The dichotomy of Thanksgiving week makes me cringe, but also laugh with the irony: we are given the excuse to do nothing but cook, eat, and be with those we love as we give thanks Thursday, and then jump right into the Christmas shopping craze. I think it’s brilliant that Tuesday of next week is now called Giving Tuesday, to encourage us to give to those less fortunate before we spend all…
It has been a busy couple of weeks around Salem. This past Sunday, we voted to sell our sanctuary and Luther Hall to Narthex and then lease it back. And then this coming Sunday is Commitment Sunday here at Salem. I know for some of you this is all very exciting; yet, for others, this is all very disturbing. So maybe we need to once again take a deep breath and try to listen to what God might…
Mark 12:38-44 Common English Bible (CEB)
As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off…
Posted by hlewis |
I have several dear friends who have lost loved ones in the last few weeks: two are grieving their mothers, and one is a widow at age 47. I scrambled to do what I could to console them, but words are hard to come by with such loss.
I tend to go from my own experience when trying to ease grief, and my greatest comfort when I lost my dad was the memories people shared of how he touched their…
We have much to celebrate this Sunday, October 28. First, 10 of our teens will affirm their baptism and accept responsibility for the vows that their parents made. Secondly, we will also celebrate the Reformation of the 16th Century Church. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. The theses were 95 statements against certain…
Mark 10:35-45
A request from James and John
James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you…
Posted by hlewis |
Our ninth graders at Salem have spent the last month or so writing their statements of faith. They will share them with us during services on Oct. 21, in preparation for their confirmation the following Sunday. One of these amazing kids happens to be mine, and she has invited me on her journey to discover what she believes, and how to put it into words.
Have you ever attempted to share…
October is here! And for me, when we get to October, I immediately think about confirmation. Our tradition here at Salem is to celebrate confirmation on the last two Sundays of October, so this month there will be a lot of activities with the confirmands. One of the activities for me is to read through all of the sermon feedback booklets. Although it is time-consuming, I love doing it…
Mark 9:38-50 Common English Bible (CEB)
38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
39 Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him. No one who does powerful acts in my name can quickly turn around and curse me.40…