Staff Trax

One of the nicest things to come from our worshiping at Overland Park Lutheran Church (OPLC) is the collaboration. We have been able to combine worship with another Lutheran church, and sometimes we have two Lutheran churches (Salem and OPLC) and a Presbyterian church. It is nice to see the differences not only between our church and the Presbyterian church, but also between us and another Lutheran…

In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus says, “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

This reminds me of the bold, unashamed witnessing our youth have, not just the youth in Salem, but the many others I see. They are not…

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” … Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming…

We are right in the middle of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is upon us, and the countdown is on to Christmas and the end of the year.

For some, the Christmas season may have started a month ago. As the Halloween decorations went down and the candy was packed away, the Christmas trees and lights went up.

You may have been listening to Christmas music since early November. Others…

Every year on Oct. 31 (or on the Sunday closest to that date), we commemorate the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, October 31, 1517. Luther chose that date, the evening before All-Hallows Day (also known as All Saints Day), because he knew the church would be packed full of worshipers the following day and they would see it on the door when…

[Jesus said to the disciples:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will…

For many, the new school year has just started, or will start soon. Notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons, and markers are all squeaky-clean in that brand-new backpack (with the Salem backpack tag on it). Who knows what will unfold from August to May? The year is a blank slate.

Most schools have a back-to-school night. Some elementary schools have a “sneak-a-peek” night where you drop…

The Old Testament and New Testament readings for this Sunday have something in common. They both talk about seed and the sower. The seed is the word of God, and the sower is whoever spreads the word of God.

According to Wikipedia,…

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for…

We are now in the month of May. May is a busy month for everyone. There are proms, graduations, recitals, and Mother’s Day. Those with older children have been doing all of this for years. Others with young children are just starting the journey. Then there are those who are grandparents, who are in their second cycle of the madness of May.

The month of May rushes along at breakneck speed,…