Let It Be
Mark Schloneger
Faithfulness, at its essence, is not the quest for a mystical experience, an experience that takes us out of the here and now. Faith does not equal a feeling of transcendence. Faith means following Jesus, trusting that what lies ahead is even greater than what has already been experienced. You see, you can spend your […]
Beggars in the Hands of a Generous God
Mark Schloneger
Beggars in the Hands of a Generous God. When we see ourselves in this way, when we see others in this way, and, when we see God in this way, then treating others as we would want to be treated becomes a natural extension of our life in prayer. In the end, as Martin Luther […]
War, Worship, and Sacrifice
Mark Schloneger
June 19. June 19, 1865. On that date, Union soldiers arrived in Texas, the remotest state in the former Confederacy and proclaimed to both enslaved people and slaveowners that the war had ended and that all slaves were free. That’s what Juneteenth commemorates. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture calls this […]
The Unfinished City
Mark Schloneger
It’s Pentecost. And here we are, all together in one place, praying and singing, and listening. But this, all of this, it didn’t happen by accident. Our worship today is not a spontaneous eruption, an extemporaneous production, an extraneous interruption. No, we have planned for this service, this particular service.
In the Watershed
Mark Schloneger
In the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis, chapter 2 — we’re given the story of Creation, the beginning of time. We’re told that God created human beings, planted a garden, and then placed them in the garden. We’re told that the trees of Eden were beautiful, and that they produced fruit that was good […]
Healing Faith
Mark Schloneger
Those widows, they’re not new to grief. No, they would tell you, they’ve been here before. They know the rituals, and so they simply did what needed to be done. They gathered together, they washed the body, and they placed it upstairs. But all of that, it doesn’t really help if you’re still in shock, […]
The Art of Resurrection: From Certainty to Openness
Mark Schloneger
On Friday, Good Friday, many of us gathered in this very space. Together, we said: Look and see the shadow of sin. Look and see the weight of the world. Look and see the suffering of our savior. Look and see the sorrow of Jesus Christ. We sang hymns. We prayed to our forgiving, reconciling, […]
From Scarcity to Abundance
Mark Schloneger
A number of years ago, I attended a church leadership retreat at Camp Amigo in Sturgis, Michigan. On our second day there, we were invited to an extended time of silence. There were different stations set up for us to pray and to reflect, but we were told to use that time as we wished. […]
From Earning to Receiving
Mark Schloneger
Luke, chapter 13, tells the story of when some people came up to Jesus and told him about a group of Galileans who were brutally murdered by Pilate, their blood spread on the offerings that they were bringing to God. Jesus had been teaching about God’s love and forgiveness. He also had been teaching about […]
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