God
Mark Schloneger
What do we say, how do we respond,when we find ourselves at a place where God seems distant and God’s promises seem empty? What do we say, how do we respond, when we feel God’s absence, God’s hiddenness? Isaiah gives us the words, and maybe it’s not surprising that those words are contained in a […]
Alone Together
Mark Schloneger
All Saints’ Day reminds us that we are not alone, that God’s presence is both in the pillar of fire and in the pillar of cloud (of witnesses) that surround us, and that the Spirit’s voice is often heard in the living testimonies of those who have died before us.
God in Place
Mark Schloneger
What we remember is embedded in places, things, and monuments, and their physical existence reinforces those memories. Therefore, wherever we are gathered in the memory of Christ, there is the place of God.
One
Mark Schloneger
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment in all of the law, he first responded with words from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Those words are part of a prayer called the Shema, and observant Jews pray them twice a day: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. You shall love the […]
The Wrestler Unmasked
Mark Schloneger
Could it be that we are Jacob — away from our home, away from our family, away from ourselves, and carrying in one of our pockets a future that we grasped by the heel but was never meant for us? Who are we? What is our story? Where is our place? Why are we here?
Postcards from the Psalms
Mark Schloneger
As a way to connect Berkey’s summer worship series with his summer of sabbatical, Mark intersperses verses from the psalms that were read during Sunday morning services with vignettes that come from his sabbatical.
Rooted and Grounded, Known and Loved
Mark Schloneger
Pastor Mark shares about the sabbatical project and what that will mean both for him personally and for Berkey.
The Us and Them
Mark Schloneger
The story of Peter having the vision of clean and unclean animals and ultimately being led to Cornelius’ house. To Peter and other Jewish believers, God’s call for Israel to be holy was to be symbolized in the everyday acts of eating. However, through both his vision and subsequent witness of God pouring out the […]
The Economy of Grace
Mark Schloneger
I think Jesus told this parable to get under his disciples’ skin a bit. I think he told it not only to teach us about what the kingdom of heaven is like but about what this world is like and what we are like. The world sees strength, power, intelligence and wealth and rewards it. […]
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