RoboPreacher

like a bright chandelier     Sermon on malaria and Revelation 13:31-35 . April 25 was World Malaria Day. A day dedicated to raising awareness and resources to help end this completely preventable disease. To participate in this day we will be doing a few special things. First , after this sermon we will take a special offering. Second, we are going to watch a video on the ELCA's most recent campaign to address Malaria. It is also worth noting the work they are beginning is in Uganda, Africa, where our own Amy Petersen is working in a school for children suffering from HIV/AIDS. For a reflection from Amy about the impact of malaria she has witnessed, I invite you to turn your malaria bulletin insert over and read what she has to say.   *Now let's watch the video.* Bishop Bvumbe's optimism is great.   Now, there is one last and third thing we are going to do to recognize World Malaria Day. As the video noted, Malaria is contracted...

i'm using this photo 'ironically' The Holy Gospel according to St. John the tenth chapter! Woah - It's been a whirlwind lately! First there was Holy Week and our first Easter together. After that I was blessed to be able to take some vacation time and visit friends in Denver. From that trip I hurried back to Burlington, and then there was my ordination and last Sunday I was installed as the pastor here. It all went so fast, and it was so lovely. It felt like I had been riding high after high for nearly a month. And so after the wonderful reception, where you all made me feel so welcomed and so loved- after it all. After Holy Week, after Easter, after Denver, after ordination, after installation and the reception I collapsed into the bed . Everything was so much to take in, and yet there was more...   When I awoke from my post-everything nap; I got in the car and headed for Indianola. There was a conference for first-call pastors I ne...

Recently I finished Rob Bell's "What We Talk About When We Talk About God." I wrote a really rough draft of my take on the book and then sat on that. I'm just now getting around to editing and posting. Here are my quick impressions. The Good: It appears that Bell is trying to translate various strands of liberal theology to an evangelical crowd; it is fun to observe how Bell makes his case. Another interesting part of the book is Bell dares to criticize America's addiction to war and fossil fuels. For a darling of the evangelical crowd, it probably took some daring on Bell's part (to say nothing of his previous book, "Love Wins"). The chapters "With," and "For" are great meditations on neo-orthodox expressions of justification as well as post-modern discussions of solidarity. Bell presents these topics in his familiar, overly aware, sometimes overly emotive style. While wading through Bell's style of presentation ca...

He is Risen Indeed!   He is Risen! (He is risen indeed!)   It has taken a lot to get us to this point today, hasn't it? I'm not just talking about the journey through Advent, Christmas, Lent and the Great Three days to get us to this Easter morn. Although that was quite the journey, wasn't it? No, I am talking about all it took to get you here today on this beautiful morning. There were all the preparations: The waking up, the noticing the beautiful sky and wondering, " should I really go in to church today ." The remembering that you'd probably better, it is easter after all... There may have also been Easter salutations to share with a loved one. Perhaps, before you were ready, your kiddos awoke you, bursting out of their rooms ready to hunt for their Easter eggs. Then there was breakfast that needed preparing. Eating. You had to get yourself ready, get decked out in your Easter duds. There were also all those...