Why I Mumble the Lord’s Prayer By Beth Demme I love it when we recite the Lord’s Prayer in worship, but recently I started mumbling it. On purpose. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And …
Jesus Was Amazed By An Outsider
Jesus Was Amazed By An Outsider By Beth Demme Picture the scene. A Roman soldier, a Centurion in charge of 100 men, comes to see Jesus. There’s been an accident or maybe an illness. The Centurion’s servant, someone important to him, has been paralyzed. The Centurion comes to Jesus, sure that Jesus can help. The Centurion comes as a man …
God Is Bigger Than My Theology
Boat Theology By Beth Demme You know the passage in Matthew where Jesus walks on the water? Jesus and the disciples feed over five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish. (Matthew 14:17-21) Jesus then herds the disciples into a boat and sends them across the Sea of Galilee. Later, Jesus was ready to join them and “he …
God’s Love Comes Before Your Mistakes
What if God’s Love Comes Before Your Mistakes? By Beth Demme It surprised me. I didn’t expect to find new, and personal meaning, in a concept as old as shepherding. I was studying John 10:1-10 for a recent sermon. In this passage, Jesus refers to himself as the shepherd and also the gate. My favorite part of this passage has …
No Sacrifice on the Sundays in Lent
The Sundays In Lent Don’t Count By Beth Demme Lent is a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.” Rev. Penny Ford Many people choose to give up something in Lent as a devotional act. Some people give up chocolate, desserts, or all sweets. Others sacrifice …
The Power of Apology
The Power of Apology to Soften the Heart & Open the Mind By Beth Demme Apologies are powerful things. I learned this first-hand when I practiced law full-time. I often represented nursing homes being sued for negligence in the death of a resident. You might not believe me, but most of the time people in nursing homes die of natural …
Wholeness and Doughnuts
Wholeness and Doughnuts By Beth Demme If you were a doughnut, what kind would you be? Would you be a delicious hot glazed Krispy Kreme, fresh off the conveyor belt? Would you be a Dunkin’ Donuts Old Fashioned, ready to dive into a hot cup of coffee? Or are you a jelly-filled doughnut, sweet and surprising inside? I know this …
My God Box Is Too Small
By Beth Demme A healthy and sustaining spirituality anticipates new knowledge, welcomes the search for truth, and dares to live with uncertainty.” –EfM I read this quote recently and instantly loved it. Sometimes I dare to live with uncertainty. Other times, I find myself stuffing God into a set of too-small boxes. The first box I try to squeeze God …
Looking For God In All The Wrong Places
By Beth Demme Epiphany is more than a sudden inspiration; it’s a season on the church calendar! Epiphany is when we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men as described in Matthew 2:1-12. Epiphany conjures up an image of three robed men riding camels through the desert at night, following the light of the brightest star in the sky. As with …
The Birth Of Jesus Is The Death Of Self-Sufficiency
The Birth of Jesus is the Death of Self-Sufficiency By Beth Demme In 1944, a German Catholic priest named Alfred Delp spent his final Advent in a Nazi prison. A few weeks before he was hanged, Father Delp described the Virgin Mary as “the most comforting of all the Advent figures.” He wrote: Advent is the promise denoting the new …