By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Matthew 5:1-12 This past Sunday, we celebrated All Saints Day. As our prayer explained, “On this Holy Day, O Lord, we remember the faith of those who have gone before us.” I was overcome by emotion as this prayer was read, which doesn’t happen very often. I realized that…
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By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on 1st John 3:1-3 When a baby is born, there’s nothing more exciting for a mother or father than meeting that baby for the first time. It’s a moment of utmost joy and excitement. However, there’s another moment that’s very similar – when that baby is baptized. After baptism, that baby…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley based on Psalm 149 “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song!” This is the first verse of Psalm 149. As I read it, I started humming a tune. The words “new song” had sparked up a memory. Eventually my humming turned to singing: “Earth and all stars, loud…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Rev. 7:9-17 “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” This, of course, was the refrain on Palm Sunday. Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly as King. The crowds welcomed him with lavish praises and spread palm branches before him as a symbol of victory. “Hosanna” was…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley based on Matthew 11:16-19 Strong. Powerful. Warrior. Conqueror. Dashing. Aloof. Awe-inspiring. Frightening. I imagine the Pharisees would have described their future Messiah in these words. They wanted a military hero, someone who would march at the head of a mighty army and take back Jerusalem by force. He would be respected…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley Something fantastic happened the other day. I was in a meeting with Pastor Jay and Matt, and Matt said the word “cookies.” I said, “Man, now I really want cookies.” After the meeting broke up, PJ went to check the mail, and lo and behold, I had a package containing…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Psalm 46 Imagine that you’re walking up to your office or classroom building when suddenly the street collapses into a giant sinkhole. Or you’re hiking in the mountains when suddenly the mountains get up and walk into the middle of the ocean, where the waves are as high as…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Revelation 14:6-7 When I was about to graduate from Concordia Wisconsin, I was beyond stressed about my job prospects. Church work careers are never easy to get into, and especially as churches are still in recovery from the recession, not as many churches are hiring youth workers. One day…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley – based on 1st Thessalonians 1:1-10 Picture these three people: a Christian homeless man in the slums, a pastor of a wealthy congregation, and a missionary in the African desert. What do these three people have in common? They are all Christians. They all believe in the same God. They all…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Psalm 96 Recently at Vespers, we’ve been discussing our relationships using the image of a triangle. The top point of a triangle represents our relationship with God; we call that “Up.” The left point represents our relationships with fellow believers; we call that “In.” The right point represents our…