“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms?
September 28, 2025 Bulletin Read Post »
Wow – did this week ever get away from me! First I never got around to sending out Monday’s Memory and then I forgot all about today’s epistle until Monica reminded me. While I can say that life had some surprises that made a busy week even busier, that sounds too much like an excuse. So I will simply say that other activities were of higher priority for me over the past seven days. So, instead of laboring you with my own words, I invite you to spend some time today with Jesus and his words.
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.”
September 21, 2025 Bulletin Read Post »
I have spent the past two nights in a “Boutique Hoel” in Ann Arbor. I had to look up the word to see what I should expect. AI tells me “it is a French word for a small, fashionable shop selling high-end or specialized goods, often with an air of exclusivity” that has expanded in various industries (like “boutique hotels”).
Boutique Experience Read Post »
I am not sure if “oblivious” is exactly the right word, but it is close. On this, the 24th anniversary of 9/11, I am thinking about the many first responders – many of whom lost their lives – who on that day were simply doing what they were trained and called to do … oblivious to the risk because they were so focused upon the task set before them. However, now – for us, they provide a wonderful example of sacrificial servanthood. We can probably put the many generations of military veterans into that same category.
“As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
September 14, 2025 Bulletin Read Post »
I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
September 7, 2025 Bulletin Read Post »
This coming Sunday’s Gospel Reading (for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost) has some very difficult lines in it. The one that currently has my attention is found in the first two verses of the reading. “Now great crowds accompanied (Jesus), and he turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.’” (Luke 14.25-26) How in the world are we to pair these lines with the Fourth Commandment (honor your parents), the Fifth Commandment (honor life), and the Sixth Commandment (honor marriage)?
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.
August 31, 2025 Bulletin Read Post »
We arrived at 8:15 a.m. for the 8:30 a.m. appointment, signed in, and sat down. Right around 8:30 a.m. they called Monica back. When they invited me to join her a half hour later, she was gowned in hospital attire with an needle in her arm. For the next hour or so she lay comfortably on the gurney as at least four different staff members passed through. At 10:15 a.m. she was wheeled away and I was dismissed back to the waiting room.
