Ordinary Time or The Time of the Church as it is sometimes called begins after the Feast of Pentecost. This time is the story of the Church. The Church, in essence, celebrates Her birthday on Pentecost, and from there we celebrate baptism into the Holy Trinity. It is a season of focus on growing in fatith, and the presence of God in the ordinary of life.
Liturgical Color: Green
Artwork by Tim Bauer
Artwork by Tim Bauer
Sometimes I think my best art is my journal writing just between me and God. There is no pressure to be liked. There is no fear of being wrong. There is no insecurity about someone else’s art being better than mine. There is no worry that someone might think I’m cheesy or lame or too cynical or too cheerful. I just say what I’m thinking and feeling, and he hears…
When I look at the church and the body I belong to in Grayslake, IL, I am so thankful. We are blessed with many kind, hardworking, compassionate brothers and sisters who know the Bible and love Jesus. Then, when I step back and ponder the big “C” worldwide Church, I am…
Holy Spirit,
You have descended time and time again
both to confuse and elevate language.
As Adam left the Garden
With Eve close by his side,
As inward, hearts were hardened,
And eastward, daylight died…
“Do you think we are going to make it?” Every vocation asks this eventually. When husband and wife see beyond the fig leaves that covered all the shame during courtship and early marriage, one asks “Are we going to make it?” When friendship hits that make-or-break moment, one asks, “Is this friendship worth it?” Some vocations…
Ministry is unimaginable apart from community, not just in a community, but with a community. The rugged individualist, John Wayne, and the celebrity pastor are not models to emulate. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. Ministry doesn’t begin isolated in the pastor’s study, but in the heart of the Triune Community. The…
I was reading David Zahl’s latest, The Big Relief: The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World, and along the way, I started thinking about what the relief he describes would look like in a local congregation. I resonated with the idea that “The church has been the place I go when there’s no place left to go” for relief…