Morning Worship, 10/28/12: "Blind Bartimaeus"

The story of Bartimaeus is a story of discipleship.  It’s about following Jesus.  In other parts of Mark, we hear about people who are either to proud to ask for Jesus’ help or people who ask for Jesus’ help with unimportant things, treating him like a genie in a bottle.  In Bartimaeus, though, we learn the true meaning of discipleship—following Jesus wherever he takes us.

Enjoy!

Morning Worship, 10/14/12: "Courting"

     My grandparents called it, “courting.”  My parents called it, “Dating.”  We called it, “going out,” even though you could “go out” with someone without ever actually taking them on a date.  Today, they call it, “talking.”  Or at least they did before texting became all the rage.  It would be hard to date as a young person in today’s society.  People break up with each other by email and text, for goodness sake!  (At least when my girlfriend broke up with me when I was a teenager, she had to watch me cry!)
     In all sincerity, what can we learn about deepening our relationship with the divine through the lens of human relationships?



     Enjoy!

Morning Worship, 10/7/12: "Something Like Family"

Have you ever seen a baby porcupine?  They have the beginnings of their quills, but they aren’t yet dangerous.  Soon, they grow up, and their bodies are covered by 20,000 quills which can be very dangerous, even deadly, to anything with which they come in contact.  This leads to a very isolated life.  They don’t live in packs or herds, like most humans and animals.  They often live alone.  But when they do have relationships with one another, they learn to dance.  In order to be close, they have to walk on their back legs and pull their quills back.  And when they are close, they have to be very careful, or else their closeness can lead to the other getting hurt.  

Enjoy! 

Morning Worship, 9/30/12: "Prayer That Works"

     What kind of prayer works?  The answer is, “Prayer than works.”
     Think back earlier in James.  He teaches us that faith  without works is dead, right?  What if the same is true of our prayers?  What if, in describing all these kinds of prayers, he is saying that our prayers should be more than words?  What if he’s saying prayers that work…work?



     Enjoy!