Scripps Sundays

Verse below of what I'll be speaking on at Union on August 18th! (Renee is going on sabbatical and asked me to give a sermon on one of the Sundays she is going to be gone.) They are doing a series on favorite passages, and this was a no brainer choosing this one! 

  a blessing for a gentle summer Blessed are we, coming into this summer of in-between. We are glad to shelter here awhile. where there can be some recovery from all that our eyes have seen and our hearts have borne. We are wondering… what just happened? The tragedy on slow-release, the shock of sudden outrage, the variants of unusual size, the sweet sense that normal maybe isn’t obsolete. We are wondering…. what could happen? We are at a threshold, a season that holds liminal space for what was, and what might be. God, gather us close, and in this small and cradled space may we let the whole weight of our very selves rest secure. Be the peace that settles our bodies, that we might awaken each day, curious as to what new thing You are doing, what beauty might yet be. -Kate Bowler 

    I read this the other week, and it was just what I needed…. Maybe it’s just what you need today too. O God, empty me of angry judgments, and aching disappointments, and anxious trying, and breathe into me something like quietness and confidence, that the lion and the lamb in me may lie down together and be led by a trust as straightforward as a little child. Catch my pride and doubt off guard that, at least for the moment, I may sense your presence and your caring, and be surprised by a sudden joy rising in me now to sustain me in the coming then. —Ted Loder,  Guerrillas of Grace art by Scott Erickson 

 Verse below chosen from a video and a podcast I listened to from the Bible Project around this passage... Such good stuff! 

Last Monday, Veronica let me know that when she was praying for you and Taylor recently, she pictured a heavy cloud drizzling on you all while you were walking. For her, this was a picture of abundance (she used the word "plenty") and of God taking care of you both so that you could touch the world in a mighty way.  May you soak this in and may this be an encouragement to you that you have folks praying for you around the world who are seeing pictures of God's care for you.... picture of rain clouds from Lake Melakwa- July 2014  Day 5 of our Dolomites Hike: July 12, 2023--  Frara Hut to Ghendencia Hut Our sweet friend Amy Figg from Knoxville always reminded me that being in the rain is a great way to remember our baptism. When we are caught in storms, we are given the opportunity to remember that we have been sealed with God's Spirit and that we are loved beyond measure. Certainly storms can embitter us too, but I am reminded that we are given a choice.  We have the ...

Verse below chosen from a video and a podcast I listened to from the Bible Project around this passage... Such good stuff!