A story is told – by Fredrick Beuchner I believe – called “The Happy Hypocrite.” It is a story about a man who was born with an awful facial deformity. He grew up alone and lonely. When reaching adulthood, he decided to move from his town to begin a new life. On his way he…
Greg Anderson said, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” I don’t know who Greg Anderson is, but I totally agree with his statement. Joy is found in doing- not arriving. This is especially true for the Church. We will never be done…
Occasionally, I run across an article that is well written and insightful. (Admittedly, I am not the best writer and I am jealous of those who can!) The article below, despite its title, has no profanity in it. I hope you find it inspirational and moving. God bless, Pr. Ben F-Bombs and Bikinis: What It…
If Jesus had an obituary, what would it say? If they put it in the newspaper on Saturday, would they print a retraction on Sunday? Here is one possibility… But we know the rest of the story, don’t we? This was not the end. This was just the beginning… Pr. Ben
Wow, what a week at Bethel! Even if you haven’t been at church this week, there is a lot going on. We began the week with filling Easter eggs for our annual Easter egg hunt, others made fleece blankets for those in need, some students were in a class to learn more about Holy Communion…
At the Wednesday Lenten Service, I talked about being reLENTlessly misguided. When Jesus was the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives between Jerusalem and the town of Bethany he was arrested. The Passover meal had ended and they left Jerusalem for Bethany because they were most likely staying at Mary, Martha and Lazarus’…
I attended a meeting a couple of weeks ago. That in itself is not odd, I have meetings every day. However, this meeting consisted of Lutheran pastors. We spent time talking about what is happening in our congregations. As this discussion progressed I discovered that two churches are close to closing and two other churches…
How does Lent feel so far? Some of you know, it is my favorite season. One of the reasons I like Lent so much is the reflective nature of these forty days. But I also really enjoy the gatherings on Wednesday evenings. Being a life-long Lutheran, I can’t remember a time that my Wednesday evenings…
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”- Jesus (Matthew 22:39) “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” –Jesus (Matthew 7:12) I know that you know these verses. I also know that some of you are…
Yesterday we began the intentional journey toward the most important event on the Christian calendar: Easter. It is so important that we take these 40 days (minus Sundays) to prepare for Jesus’ resurrection. Every excursion has a starting point. For us, our starting point is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday has a long history within Christianity….
