A Jesus Centered Community of Scripture, Faith, and Grace
Newsletter (Page 34)
I remember reading my friend Travis Scholl’s book “Walking the Labyrinth” , and being struck by a line that was probably otherwise somewhat forgettable. He talked about one of his earliest memories of being a part of the community of the Church as playing in the pews and smelling the wine from communion on his…
Just this past weekend I was reminded of an item called a “church key”, a term used for a certain type of bottle opener. According to at least one source, this name came about because the bottle opener’s rounded opener looked like the ring on one of the large skeleton keys used on church doors. …
The first time I confessed my sins to a pastor, it wasn’t what I had imagined. We all have that Hollywood image of what it means to go to confession: the little closet room with the sliding window, the priest saying “how long has it been since your last confession?”, etc. Mine was at seminary.…
I remember Emory Hingst (pastor at University Lutheran in the 60s) telling a story about an early University Lutheran Easter service that they held in one of the Tallahassee cemeteries. The experience was palpable with the sense of victory over the grave as the people gathered to worship the King of Life who rose from…
This morning I was having a conversation with the foreman of the Black Student Union that is being built next to University Lutheran. We talked about a lot of stuff, but eventually the conversation came to what was happening in Texas. We talked about the flooding damage that we had seen – him from living…
It is not often that I take issue with Luther’s Small Catechism, but if I may be so bold, I have a bone to pick with our illustrious founder. That particular bone of contention is where he stops the quote of Matthew 28 in what we confessed this past Sunday: What is Baptism? Baptism is…
Unless you’ve gone to a Roman Catholic mass recently, you may not realize that Roman Catholics do not say “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever” at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. And if you look up where Jesus gives the Lord’s Prayer to His disciples in…
I have never been a part of a twelve-step group, and I’m somewhat thankful for that, although I do think that people who are a part of those organizations have a perspective on life that is sometimes more honest and loving than people who have not been. This week we confessed the 6th Petition of…
It is hard to find two words quite as terrifying as the “as we” in the Lord’s Prayer. This weekend we confessed the explanation to the 5th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: What is the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer? And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.…
Last week in the newsletter we asked how we could make the newsletter experience a better experience. One of the things that came back overwhelmingly was to reintroduce the Pastor’s Article into the actual email rather than providing a link to it. So, your will be done. It is back in the the actual email. …