Our Mission is Growing Disciples of Jesus Christ

One of the Lenten practices to which we are invited is self-denial. That’s a rather counter-cultural practice, isn’t it!

So often, the hard things in life get all the press. Conflicts, disasters, wars, problems all get the headlines and interest.

When I went to college, I didn’t encounter that much opposition to God or belief. But after a while I noticed the way so many people lived their lives oblivious to God, not even thinking about God.

Many of the homes in our area were built in recent decades. For older homes, after a while, major repairs and renovations are often needed.

Happy New Year! I pray that you will grow in God’s grace and in the knowledge and love of the Lord and in the fellowship of God’s people. We all know the cliché about New Year’s resolutions and how they often burn out in the face of our personal inertia.

As Christians, with intentionality, every aspect of our day can be lived in God’s presence and seen through God’s eyes. We sometimes forget about the power of ordinary living.

Living intentionally Christian lives often takes some planning or preparation. On the one hand, being intentionally Christian involves cultivating a mind and heart to love certain values and shy away from things that undermine those values.

Do you think much about the Communion of Saints? The first of November is the Feast of All Saints (giving the name to the night before: All Hallows' Eve, the eve of the feast of all who have been hallowed by God—made holy—made the saints).

In my previous message, I wrote about the things in our culture that we need to turn off to better form and shape our hearts and minds as Christians and to lead intentionally Christian lives. But what should we turn on? What is the positive alternative? With what should we fill our hearts and minds, and how?

What other parts of our lives need “intentionally Christian” attention? Various parts of our culture are favorite targets of blame.

A phrase that has been echoing in my head recently is “intentional Christian living.” The words “intentional” and “intentionality” have come into use in recent decades to talk about how we shape our lives.

I found myself without the words to write for my weekly message last Thursday. It was September 11, and we were remembering that day in 2001.

What do you celebrate in your life? Significant achievements? Major milestones such as graduation or marriage or the birth of a child? Do you take the time to celebrate the many blessings God gives you each day?

I was privileged, this past Saturday, to be present when my son, Alex, was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. My father and I are priests in the Episcopal Church, and I have several cousins among the clergy as well. I am so delighted to see Alex take this step in service to the Lord.

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Mary, the Virgin. In the Gospel reading for this feast, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, joins her cousin Elizabeth in praising God for his miracles and his mercy on the humble and lowly, undoing the injustice of the proud.

Jesus' disciples asked him "Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus' response is what we call "The Lord's Prayer."

Sometimes church language becomes so familiar that we become inoculated against it.

Summer is often a time for disconnection from work and school, and we carve out time for relaxation and reflection. In our leisure, there is still time for conversations about inflation, global politics, conflict with Iran, social issues in the US, kids, teachers, and the juggle of it all.

Today is Juneteenth, the day we remember when the news (and enforcement) of emancipation from slavery reached Texas after the Civil War, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln.

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The Doctrine of the Trinity is often called “a mystery.” In seminary, we tried to get out of writing complex papers for our theology class by telling the professor “it’s a mystery!”