I’m writing this on Wednesday morning before Hurricane Milton makes landfall later tonight. When you read it, we will be receiving reports about the impact of Hurricane Milton just as we did from Hurricane Helene. Right now, there are people across my social media feeds sending out requests for prayer as Milton approaches. So it…
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Posts by University Lutheran (Page 8)
“Steward” is a word that doesn’t get used very often in our current vernacular. Perhaps you understand “steward” by its related word “stewardship,” which unfortunately often gets used as a code word for “church fundraising effort”. And sure, we are indeed called to be stewards of our money – but I think we fail to…
I don’t know about you, but I have clear memories of my mother telling me, “Jay, patience is a virtue.” It was perhaps the first thing that I knew to call a “virtue”. It’s also something that I have to tell myself most times when I find myself standing in line for something. Recently at…
The Gospel of John is a little….different. Unlike the other three Gospels, John presents things in a different order that doesn’t seem to based on chronology. He doesn’t include some of the same stories that the other Gospels do (e.g. no sermon on the mount), and he gives us stories that we wouldn’t otherwise have…
See if you can identify these catch phrases from tv and movie characters: “Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.” “D’oh!” “Winter is coming.” “That’s what she said.” “Say hello to my little friend.” Maybe a few of them stumped you, but you probably connected to at least one of the catch phrases. Perhaps in your…
John records Jesus as saying “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15) The context of the verse shows that He says this about HIs encouragement to His disciples to follow God’s commandments. And the purpose is not “so you’ll…
The word that we most commonly translate as “disciple” is the Greek word “matheteis”. At the most basic level, it just means “learner”. Often times a matheteis was a particular kind of learner, someone who was in a sort of apprenticeship program, but not always. I think that unfortunately, sometimes Christians don’t feel like they…
Paul in Acts 20 quotes Jesus as saying, “It is better to give than to receive.” We often hear this quote around Christmas time when we’re buying presents for loved ones (and perhaps for less than loved ones as well). But this isn’t just a Christmas quote, it’s a way of life. We might have…
Lutherans are used to confession. We do it every Sunday around here. We start our services off acknowledging, in some form, that we are “poor miserable sinners” and that “we have failed in our love towards God and as a result failed to love our neighbor,” and that “we are in bondage to sin and…
I announced this past Sunday that I have received a call to First Lutheran Church in Gainesville FL. As of right now, I am still prayerfully considering the possibility that God is calling me to leave University Lutheran and lead that church. Considering a call is a torturous process for a pastor, as it is…