Most of us hope to leave a legacy of goodness—love, kindness, generosity, service, strength, devotion. We certainly make mistakes as we live our daily lives, but our goal is to recognize our failures and make amends.
Jesus’ Use of the Psalms
May 10, 2022 by
For ordinary Christians who experience opposition and negative feelings, we are invited to bring the full breadth of these experiences into the realm of God.
Crossroads: Waiting on the Lord
March 14, 2022 by
I find myself anxious a good bit of the time. I worry about what will happen, whether or not something will actually occur, and if things will turn out okay. It seems like Psalm 27 was written for worriers.
Crossroads: God’s Great Plan for You
January 31, 2022 by
As a child, I never liked to see people unhappy. I always wanted to do what I could to help. When I was about five, we went to a local nursing home to sing for the residents. While we were there, we met a lady in a wheelchair who really wanted to go home.
Crossroads: How Big Is God’s Love?
January 17, 2022 by
I can remember saying “I love you this much!” as a child, with my arms open wide. I’m sure you’ve seen children do this before: they open their arms as wide as they can and say “I love you this much!” Or they give you a bear hug and squeeze and say the same thing.
Crossroads: Thanksgiving
November 22, 2021 by
This is a time when families gather together around a table filled with food, and remember all of the things for which they are thankful. Some years it’s easy to remember the blessings you’ve been given. But other years, it seems as if nothing has gone right.
Crossroads: God Is Our Refuge
October 25, 2021 by
Last week our devotion was on times when it seems like God isn’t there. This week’s psalm is a reminder to us that God is always there and that God is our refuge.
Crossroads: Where is God?
October 18, 2021 by
When I was a child, bad thunderstorms used to terrify me. The rain was okay, but I was very afraid of the thunder and the lightning. Thunderstorms that happened at night were always the worst. There was no way I could sleep during them.
Crossroads: Small
October 11, 2021 by
Has nature ever just wowed you? Have you ever felt small when looking at the ocean or the stars? Talk about a time when you felt awed by something in nature.
Crossroads: What Should I Ask For?
August 23, 2021 by
As a child of the 90s, I cannot tell you how many times I watched Aladdin. It was one of my favorite movies.
Crossroads: King of Glory
July 19, 2021 by
The LORD Almighty is the King of glory. The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it. Praise the LORD! Sometimes we forget that everything is God’s and that God created everyone.
Crossroads: Our Guide
July 12, 2021 by
We recently finished Everest VBS. As the leader of Base Camp Sing and Play as well as Summit Celebration, I was known as a Sherpa. A Sherpa is an expert guide on Mount Everest whose job it is to guide climbers safely up and back down Everest.
Crossroads: God Knows
June 7, 2021 by
Talk about a time in your life when you felt invisible, when you felt like no one else knew your pain and it seemed like you were on your own. Did you turn to God?
Crossroads: Holy, Holy, Holy
May 31, 2021 by
God is different from everything else in our universe. He is the Creator, and the only One who is holy. I am most reminded of God’s holiness during communion and during Holy week.
Flame: David and Goliath Balloon Inflation Trick
October 13, 2020 by
We acted out the story of David and Goliath, focusing on the fact that, though others thought that David had no chance against Goliath, David trusted God and God was able to use him and the skills he had.
Flame: God as our Anchor Craft and Prayer Activity
July 7, 2020 by
Here is a prayer activity that older children could do independently to help them think about trusting in God for their strength. It could be used especially if you were exploring stories that involve the sea or storms!
Hard Grace
April 29, 2020 by
It was extremely important for the church of my youth to prove that every single miracle in the Bible be proven as an historical and scientific fact. A literal seven day creation, the parting of the Red Sea, Joshua making the sun stand still, and of course, there was the story of “Jonah and the Whale.”
Crossroads: The Wonders of Winter
January 1, 2018 by
Winter can be a dark, dreary time. But it can also be filled with wonders. I absolutely love snow. As soon as it starts falling, I want to go out in it and take pictures. And if it sticks, I wait impatiently until there’s enough to build a snowman.
Crossroads: Forgiving Others
July 10, 2017 by
When I was a teenager, my youth group planned a summer mission trip to Myrtle Beach. One of my best friends, John, was in our youth group, and we were both excited about the upcoming mission trip. John and I had roomed together on every church trip. We were great friends and enjoyed spending time together. As I arrived at the church to leave for the mission trip, I learned that John had decided to room with someone else.
Flame: Creation Story Circles
June 6, 2017 by
I get really excited by visual ways of telling stories, so I thought I’d make some for us to use. I chose to use cork and paper as we are trying to get away from plastic, if possible!
Crossroads: I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
January 30, 2017 by
I didn’t always feel pretty as a teenager. I went through the usual gawky teen phase, with braces and acne and glasses. There were times when I wished that I looked like someone else.
Formations 07.17.2016: Deborah the Judge
July 10, 2016 by
We traditionally call the biblical heroes who flourished from the settlement of Canaan to the rise of the monarchy “judges,” but that doesn’t quite capture their role.
Formations 07.03.2016: Breaking the Cycle of Failure
June 26, 2016 by
She’lah Shreve is a graduate of George W. Carver High School in Birmingham, Alabama and is soon to begin his studies at Lawson State Community College. There was a time, though, when it looked like he would never graduate at all. Tenth-grade chemistry threatened to be She’lah’s downfall.
Connections 06.12.2016: Them and Us
June 5, 2016 by
Judgment is real and necessary, but it’s nothing to be happy about.
God’s not happy about it. We shouldn’t be happy about it.
Connections 06.05.2016: Perhaps…
May 29, 2016 by
I read the Scripture passage for today’s lesson and thought, “Well, that’s cheerful.” Of all passages in the Bible, the hardest ones for me are those that speak of God’s laying waste to lands and people and animals—sometimes, it seems, indiscriminately.
Crossroads: Celebrate!
May 9, 2016 by
I love birthdays. I love celebrating my birthday and celebrating other people’s as well. There’s something about a birthday. One of my favorite birthday celebrations actually took place at camp.
Formations 04.17.2016: What a Kingdom Looks Like
April 10, 2016 by
Jeff Bezos is a technology entrepreneur and investor. He is the reason you can get almost anything shipped to your door—dog food, a soldering gun, a flat screen TV—within two days of clicking a button.
Formations 04.10.2016: Places of Worship
April 3, 2016 by
Do you have fond memories of a particular place of worship? Maybe it’s the sanctuary were you were baptized, where you were married, or where your parents or grandparents were bid farewell.
Formations 04.03.2016: Questions that Make a Difference
March 27, 2016 by
Growing up, Lisa Gross was fed traditional Korean food cooked by her grandmother, who came to America from Korea with Gross’s mother in the 1970s. Every time Gross would come into the kitchen while her grandmother cooked, she was sent back out to do her homework and study.
Formations 02.28.2016: Renewing Our Vows
February 21, 2016 by
Two weeks ago, hundreds of married couples gathered at Fountain Hills Park in Fountain Hills, Arizona to renew their wedding vows. The fourth-annual event was one of the world’s largest vow renewal ceremonies.
Connections 02.28.2016: The Feast of Booths
February 21, 2016 by
I am not a camper. I like the idea of communing with nature, gazing at the stars, sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows, and falling asleep to the sounds of the night.
Formations 02.21.2016: The Ten Excuses
February 14, 2016 by
A few months ago, an employment website called Career Builder polled users to see how many employees had come up with an excuse to avoid going in to work in 2015.
Connections 02.21.2016: Day of Atonement
February 14, 2016 by
We all know what a “cover-up” is. We also know it’s not a good thing. How many times have we learned of a crime only after the cover-up falls apart?
Crossroads: Ash Wednesday
February 8, 2016 by
I always feel the weight of the ashes on my forehead on Ash Wednesday. It wasn’t until I went to a Catholic school in Middle School that I began participating in Ash Wednesday services.
Formations 02.14.2016: The Lenten Fast
February 7, 2016 by
The message that church conveyed—sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly—was that Lent and many other traditions of the wider church were nothing but empty ceremonialism that “real” Christians were better off avoiding.
Connections 02.14.2016: The Feast of Weeks
February 7, 2016 by
Have you ever planted a seed and watched it grow into food? Sadly, I haven’t yet undertaken that experience—hindered by fear of failure and, to be honest, resistance to such a level of responsibility.
Formations 02.07.2016: Accepting the Promise of Freedom
January 31, 2016 by
For nearly 34 years, Gregory Diatchenko knew that he would die in prison after he was found guilty of committing murder at the age of 17. Sent to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole, he had to resign himself to the fact that he would never be free.
Connections 02.07.2016: Passover
January 31, 2016 by
The story of the institution of Passover is about the present, the future, and the past. The narrative opens with “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt . . .” (v. 1). God then proceeds to give them instructions for the Passover observance.
Formations 01.31.2016: Creation from Catastrophe
January 24, 2016 by
This September marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. Among those commemorating the event is the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba), which has already opened an exhibition.
Connections 01.17.2016: The Story of Forgiveness
January 10, 2016 by
I’ll be honest. I was kind of hoping this was Mike Ruffin’s week to write. A bride worth waiting for and the most beautiful bride were surely easier topics than this week’s unfaithful bride.
Connections 01.10.2016: The Most Beautiful Bride
January 3, 2016 by
I imagine you’ve heard of a hopeless romantic. I’m not one of those. I’m a hopeful romantic. I believe that hope leads to love and that love leads to hope. I believe that love changes the way we see those we love.
Connections 01.03.2016: The Story of Love
December 27, 2015 by
I grew up on Disney princess movies, many of which had this plot: A girl lives with her father (or horrific stepmother) because her mother suffered some fatal accident or succumbed to sickness.
Uniform 12.20.2015: What Can I Bring?
December 13, 2015 by
Our unit title is “What We Bring to God.” Have you ever thought about that? Often, we focus on what God gives to us. The list is both lengthy and weighty: salvation, grace, a Savior who identifies with us, a Scripture text for guidance, the Earth with all its provisions.
Uniform 12.13.2015: Acceptable Offerings
December 6, 2015 by
I was the young new pastor at the church. As I walked around the offices, I noticed that every room had a different color carpet, that a lot of it was ugly, and that none of it was what you’d call “nice.”
Crossroads: The Candle of Prophecy/Hope
November 30, 2015 by
Welcome to the first week of Advent! Advent is a time of preparation, when we wait and prepare for the Christ child. Each week you will light a new candle as we recognize the things that Christ brings to this world.
Formations 11.29.2015: Only Light
November 22, 2015 by
On November 12, a crowded marketplace in the Bourg al-Baragneh neighborhood in Beirut was bombed, leaving hundreds dead and injured in the worst attack Beirut has seen in years.
Formations 11.08.2015: “My Feet Are a Big Fabric”
November 1, 2015 by
The Universal Translator is a staple of the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It is a device that instantly translates speech from one language to another, allowing Captain Kirk and his crew to communicate easily.
Crossroads: Praise the Lord!
October 26, 2015 by
Our youth group had a saying that we used to end our meetings each week: “God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!” Good is good all of the time.