To state the obvious, it is another election year. Recently, election years have escalated a tribal instinct within all of us. What do I mean by tribal? We draw lines in the sand and make judgments like, “you are either with me or against me.” We “circle the wagons” and insulate ourselves from those who…
Last week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) I was in Mesa, AZ for our annual synod assembly. Community Lutheran Church is connected to a larger church body known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Within the ELCA, we are located within a synod (think area or district) in which we are connected to other…
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 Some of us are really good at making snap judgments about other people. In the blink of an…
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (to believe). Romans 1:20 Saint Paul is making a simple argument: look at the world around you and you should come the inevitable conclusion…
This past weekend I began a sermon series on Joseph. If you didn’t hear the message, you can listen to it here: Joseph Sermon . Joseph’s life was filled with lots of downs. More downs that ups. It was as if he lived in the proverbial “valley of the shadow of death” for most of…
