Pastor Brian's Blog

“Never give up.  Never surrender.”  It's the motto of Captain Jason Nesmith (played by Tim Allen) in the science fiction film spoof Galaxy Quest .  Faith involves “sticking-to-it,” a determination to keep going when the going gets tough.  Fortunately, we can face the challenges of life with the support of God and the church who stick with us. During the weeks of summer, I will lead a series on the Acts of the Apostles.  With its place in the New Testament immediately after the four gospels, the book of Acts has a cast of characters who are unstoppable.  They are persistent when the going gets tough.  They persevere when the odds are stacked against them.  The stories of these followers of Jesus can inspire your faith.    June 4 - Pentecost Mary Acts 1:12-14 June 11 Barnabas Acts 4:32-37 June 18 Philip Acts 8:26-40 June 25 Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:1-11 July 2 Stephen Acts 6:1-8a ...

As the summer solstice approaches, it is exciting to see things growing all around us.  One of the songs in The United Methodist Hymnal makes an analogy of faith to growth in nature: “Faith, while trees are still in blossom, plans the picking of the fruit; Faith can feel the thrill of harvest when the buds begin to sprout.” 1   In the spring, when I see blossoms on my apple tree, I anticipate that apples will be growing on the tree.  My hope for apples in the fall is based on the reliability of natural processes.  Likewise, faith is trusting in God because God is faithful. 2  Whereas God’s trustworthiness does not depend on our faith in God, our trust in God depends on God’s faithfulness.   Jürgen Moltmann suggests that faith emerges from our being born to a new life in the Holy Spirit.  We do not generate this faith from within ourselves.  It is founded on the faithfulness of God and never forsakes us.  It is eternal...

Dear Friends in Christ, A few weeks ago, during strong winds, a large spruce tree from the church yard fell over onto the parsonage.  Fortunately, a chain link fence broke the fall, and there was no significant damage to the house. However, while resting on the utility lines, the tree eventually stressed the lines and at least one line snapped.  In the blink of an eye, all kinds of things in the house became useless.  The oven, the vacuum, the microwave, the television, and a host of other gadgets do not work without power.  Without a connection to the source of power, my activity became very limited.  I am grateful to those who organized a rapid response in restoring services to the parsonage, especially Tom Board and Amy Reimer.  ComEd came within a couple of hours to trim the tree and restore power to the house.  AT&T restored internet service.  The next day Morrison Arborist removed all the tree debris.  From a ...

After Easter, I will lead a new series called “Second Chances: Stories of Redemption.”   Nobody is perfect.  We make mistakes.  People let us down.  We hurt ourselves and others.  Sometimes our life feels like a broken ceramic dish — fragmented, wrecked, or useless.  A Japanese aesthetic called wabi-sabi involves seeing the beauty in aging and imperfection.  Using a technique called kintsugi (“gold joinery”), a ceramic dish repaired with a precious metal can become even more beautiful than it was before it was broken.  To apply the concept of wabi-sabi to our spiritual life, all we need is for someone to see our potential and give us a second chance.   Jesus does that for us.  The gospel message is that no matter who we are or what we have done, God sees beyond our imperfections, loves us, forgives us, and offers us a new life. April 23 Forgiven Luke 7:36-39 April 30 – Rutter Requiem Dispossessed Luk...

Dear Friends in Christ, “Love each other just as I have loved you” (John 15:12, CEB) .   Jesus offers these words as a new commandment to his disciples.  A beautiful example of Jesus’ love for his disciples is his washing of their feet.  Although Peter objects, Jesus uses the deed as an object lesson.  The Master acts as a servant to demonstrate how we are to love each other.  This year during worship on Maundy Thursday, you will have the option of participating in the act of footwashing.  First, someone washes your feet.  Then, you turn and wash someone else’s feet.  When I have participated in footwashing, I have been touched by the tenderness and humility of this simple act.  It turns love from invisible emotion into visible action.  As usual, Jesus leads us by example.  He models a life of serving others so that we can know what love looks like.  Through the act of footwashing, we participate in a hum...

A popular meteorological aphorism for March is: “In like lion, out like a lamb.”  It suggests that if the weather is cold and nasty early in the month, it will become warm and pleasant by the end of the month.  While the Farmers’ Almanac gives no credence to this saying, it traces the origin of it to the belief “that there should be a balance in weather and life.” 1   In a religious context, the two metaphors of lion and lamb have nothing to do with weather, but both have been used for Jesus.  In Revelation 5:5-6, the seer describes Jesus as both Judah’s victorious lion and the sacrificed lamb that lives.  If we were to apply these metaphors to our spiritual lives, I would suggest that the idea of balance is a good one.  The lion metaphor implies courage and power.  The lamb metaphor suggests humility and gentleness.  Being a lion without the lamb could lead to arrogance and temerity.  Being a lamb without the lion could resul...

In March, I will begin a new series called “Organic God,” inspired by Kate Moorehead’s devotional book for Lent with the same title.  The idea of an organic God may sound like nonsense.  How can God be organic?  In fact, Christians affirm the incarnation of Jesus Christ as God in the flesh.  Jesus is our organic God.  Jesus taught with organic metaphors, too.  He spoke of the sower who scatters seeds on the soil.  He taught about the good tree that bears good fruit.  He explained how our relationship to God is like the life-giving connection of a vine and its branches. Jesus lived in a land of farmers and fishers, and he had a deep connection to the Earth.  The less we share that connection, the less we understand his message.  With a focus on the Earth-centered teachings of Jesus, we will look for meaning in the details, as nature reveals the life of God with us every day.  As Moorehead says, “By meditating on t...