Jesus’ Temptations—and Ours
Dan Schrock
For many of us this story is extremely familiar. We hear it nearly every year in our Lenten worship services because Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell a version of this story. We call it “the temptations of Jesus,” though I’m not sure how tempting Jesus actually found Satan’s three offers. I don’t know about […]
At the Peak
Dan Schrock
This story seems unreal. The face of Jesus switching from a lovely brown tone into something that shines like the sun? Come on, how is that possible? Or his clothes shifting from tan to white? Fabric can’t do that. And Moses and Elijah appearing side‐by‐side with Jesus? Those guys had been dead for hundreds of […]
Friendship and Intimacy
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
In February 1944, when she was 13 years old, Anne Frank, a Jew who was in hiding in Amsterdam, wrote: Today the sun is shining, the sky is a deep blue, there is a lovely breeze and I am longing–so longing–for everything. To talk, for freedom, for friends, to be alone. And I do so […]
Singleness – One Voice
Margaret Stoltzfus
I have written this meditation in my mind numerous times trusting that the Spirit would bring to my attention the pieces that would be most beneficial for each of us. How well I have succeeded remains to be seen. I cannot speak for all single persons but I can share my story. My present singleness […]
God’s Presence . . . and Ours
Dan Schrock
Until today, I’ve never prepared a sermon on gay and lesbian relationships for this congregation. I’ve avoided this topic because the issue has been so contentious and emotional for Mennonites in the last 30 years. In families, congregations, conferences, and in the denomination, we have vociferously disagreed with each otherover this. In 2011 during the […]
Temples of the Spirit
Dan Schrock
Many of us in the modern world regard marriage as something of a capstone in human experience. The ideal, we think, is to marry, have children, buy a home, and live the good life. The fact that so many gay and lesbian couples want to marry shows how much marriage is idealized in our culture. […]
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall….Reflecting God’s Image
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
I love the bodies of babies and young children. It amazes me how they enter the world with everything they need in order to survive‐‐healthy lungs that breathe and support their strong voices, digestive systems that take in food and expel what is not needed. And yet, these bodies are vulnerable, weak‐‐most newborns can’t hold […]
Focusing Desire in Covenant
Dan Schrock
This morning I want to talk with you about desire—not as an evil force inside of us which we must repress, but as a gift from God to use for the sake of God’s mission in the world. You heard that right: desire is not an evil to avoid, but a good gift to use […]
Fear . . . and God
Dan Schrock
Each of us here this morning knows what it is to be afraid. I have a friend who has an unusual and chronic disease that’s notoriously difficult to treat. In a desperate search for better health, he has traveled to several cities to consult with specialists in big-name medical centers. One of these specialists finally […]
Bethlehem, not Jerusalem
Dan Schrock
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem. Have you ever thought about the significance of that fact? Bethlehem was a small village of just a few hundred souls. The folks who lived out in Bethlehem were mostly farmers and small‐time trades people. Life in Bethlehem was pretty simple and uncomplicated, where everyone knew everyone else […]
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