Tag Archives: Prayer

Pentecost 17 C: Resolutely Watch for God’s Answer

The readings for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost are Old Testament & Psalm, Option I Old Testament      Lamentations 1:1–6 Psalm                    Lamentations 3:19–26 or Psalm 137 or Old Testament & Psalm, Option II Old Testament      Habakkuk 1:1–4, 2:1–4 … Continue reading

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Easter 3C: Life, Not the Pandemic, Will Win

The Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter are: First Reading        Acts 9:1–6 (7–20) Psalm                    Psalm 30 New Testament      Revelation 5:11–14 Gospel                   John 21:1–19 I was 30 years old. My son was four. I was in … Continue reading

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Emergence of Winter Wheat

Martin Luther was smart enough to remember what we all forget. Every day we forget how great life can be if we live to the potential God has built into us. Sadder still, we forget how much God does to … Continue reading

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Pentecost 17B: Fighting Hard in the Culture Wars

The readings for this 17th Sunday after Pentecost are: Old Testament      Jeremiah 11:18–20 Psalm                    Psalm 54 New Testament     James 3:13–4:3, 4:7–8a Gospel                   Mark 9:30–37 We are at an inflection point. We are in a culture war. … Continue reading

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Pentecost 6B: Boasting and Praying on a Pandemic Fourth

The Second Reading for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost is 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 in which Paul demurs from boasting, says he could boast in his visions, but concludes that Christ’s refusal to remove his “thorn of the flesh” taught him … Continue reading

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Psalm 16: “The Lord is Everything to Me”

Psalm 16 is the prayer that Christians have said in the wake of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is also a perfect prayer for pandemic times.   This prayer is a meditation taking us deeper and deeper into the … Continue reading

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Ash Wednesday Petitions

Creator God,  we who stand before you are dust,    and to dust we shall return. But you have breathed into our lips your Holy Breath, so we are also … yours. Help us this Lent to come alive to your … Continue reading

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The Healing Power of Dogs and Our Prayer in the Press

Louisville, my team, was on the floor, locked in an epic battle with Michigan for the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship. It was a glorious struggle, but the competition was so keen that, by halftime, my heart was racing.             … Continue reading

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Weather Calls for Glass-Half-Full Thinking

    They say some people are “glass half full” people and others are “glass half empty.” I’m more inclined to think as Martin Luther of old who said we are all simultaneously saints and sinners. I know I have the … Continue reading

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Prayerfully Gathering with Spot

February 2, 2012                 As an apprentice sheepdog, Spot has had a tumultuous work history. With the help of the insights from three of the very best sheepdog trainers in the world, Bobby Dalziel, Aled Owen and Gordon Watt, I … Continue reading

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