Blessed are they that die in the Lord

Dear friends and family of SOTH, In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, Gary H. Wolfe died to this life on September 11, 2015.  We give thanks for his life and witness here on earth and celebrate his homegoing to God.  We also grieve his loss with his wife, …

Pentecost +15 – Unexpected & Changed

This week our lessons share two stories of unexpected encounters with Jesus.  The first challenges Jesus’ idea of inclusion.  The second story changes a life that is now able to hear and proclaim the Good News.  In Mark’s Gospel, there is a slow revelation happening right now – that Jesus …

BAIYB…We can live in God’s wisdom

What does it mean to make the most of time? Does it mean that we should cram as much as we can into a day, hour, minute—get more done than some think is more than humanly possible and then add more to the list just for kicks? Or does it …

We Live as Imitators of Christ

Baggage – we’ve all got it.  When I travel with youth, I’m fond of saying, you pack it you carry it.  There’s a lot of it in our lives.  And it gets heavy and hard to bear. There’s physical baggage, emotional baggage, spiritual baggage.  It’s tiring to just think about …

We are One in Christ

John Lennon’s iconic song “Imagine” begs of the listener to imagine a world as one.  St. Paul, from jail, declares to the Ephesians that in Christ we are one – one body, one Spirit, one hope, for the building up of the body of Christ.  Not something to imagine.  Something …

Weekly Announcements for July 22, 2015

We Welcome. Don’t Forget – Midweek Summer Worship! As part of our summer experiment, Wednesday nights in July and August will feature a light meal and worship!  The meal is served at 6:30 PM. We ask a suggested donation of $2 per person. We will then worship around the tables …

BAIYB…We Live in God’s Abundance

How do you define abundance?  Our culture is oriented toward accumulation and often we can hardly see beyond it.  It’s a defense against not having enough. Behaving as if we believe that we line in God’s abundance means that what we have comes from something more lasting than anything here …

BAIYB: Blessed, Chosen, Adopted, Forgiven, Redeemed

Pentecost P+7, L15B Ephesians 1:3-14 July 12, 2015 BLESSED: CHOSEN, ADOPTED, FORGIVEN, REDEEMED This morning – I’d like to start with you all thinking about you.  You will need a post-it note and a pencil. What are 5 characteristics that you would use to describe yourself?  Write them on the …