Love and Joy
For Sunday, May 10, 2015 – John 15:9-17 What’s love got to do with it? Apparently, everything. Abide in my love, Jesus says. Hmm . . . how do we do that? By keeping my commandments. Ah-ha . . . I knew there had to be a catch. So “abiding in love” is about duty and commitment and obligation. […]
The Fruit of Abiding
For Sunday, May 3, 2015 – John 15:1-8 How readily we hear the admonition to “bear fruit.” Go, do, produce . . . be all you can be, and then some. Be productive or be cast aside. Growing up on an Iowa farm, attending a small school and a small church where everyone had work to do, […]
What We Need
For Sunday, April 26, 2015 – John 10:11-18 Usually my attention goes immediately to the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. How good and kind the shepherd is, willing to give his life for the sheep. How comforting to see myself as one of many, just an ordinary sheep, yet extraordinarily loved and known. […]
We Want to See Jesus
For Sunday, March 22, 2015 – John 12:20-33 What they want is quite simple: they want to see Jesus. Maybe they think if they can just see him, be in his presence even briefly, they will know him better, and better understand the kind of kingdom he is ushering in. They get more than they bargain for. They end […]
