Trust Amid Anxiety
Dan Schrock
I once sat with a young woman who was anxious about the state of the world. Of course someone could worry about any number of things in this world, but this young woman was especially anxious about wars in various parts of the world. During and after college she had lived in several different countries […]
Forgiveness
Peter Shetler
Almost anytime I call Jan during the day, or send her an email (unless someone is listening in or others are copied), or just see her at the end of the day — I will almost always start out with, “So. Do you still love me?” Now Jan says that this is just because I […]
The Ultimate Offering
Dan Schrock
God is in a feisty mood. The prophet Micah is also in a feisty mood. To understand why, look at the context. Micah, a Hebrew prophet who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah about 720 years before Jesus, cared passionately about ordinary people. Micah was no urbane aristocrat like the prophet Isaiah. Instead he […]
Even Solomon in all his Glory
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” (Matt.6:28-29; Luke 12:27) The Gospels of Matthew and Luke include this reference to Solomon in Jesus’ teaching about worry and anxiety over food, drink […]
Those Glorious Nights
Dan Schrock
Most Christians whom I know love daylight and fear darkness. Jenny and I had neighbors twelve years ago who were fine Christian people—members of one of the local Missionary churches here in town. One day shortly after they moved in their new home, they decided to install night lights at the front and back corners […]
As for me and my Household..
Allan Dueck
In early February Bethany’s faculty joined some 500 teachers at a conference center just outside Washington, DC, for the Mennonite Educators’ Conference. Keynote speaker Kenda Creasy Dean talked about Christian faith in America today, and she identified a set of ten pedagogical approaches – ways of teaching – that facilitate faith development in young people […]
Stuck
Dan Schrock
There you are, stuck. Maybe you’re stuck at work. One woman I’m acquainted with felt trapped in her work at a church-related organization. This organization did great work in the community for the sake of Christ, and was known far and wide for doing competent, compassionate work. Her stuckness came from the fact that the […]
Joseph’ Sexual Harassment
Dan Schrock
This story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife is a clear-cut case of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sometimes we think the Bible has an ancient feel to it, that its stories come from so far away and so long ago that they don’t have any congruence with our context and our situation. Despite the fact […]
Blessed and Sent
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
With this sermon, we begin our narrative lectionary. The narrative lectionary follows the overarching Biblical story of God and God’s people. Preaching from this lectionary will hopefully give all of us a sense of how God has been at work throughout history and of how the story of God and God’s people continues today. Our […]
Loss and Redemption
Dan Schrock
The story of Ruth and Naomi is a story of profound, painful loss. In previous sermons this month, we’ve talked in some detail about the losses they experienced. Now in chapter 4, the story turns wonderfully toward redemption: Ruth and Naomi bounce back into the good life. Ruth marries a sterling man named Boaz; they […]
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