Cultural Studies… Ozymandias 26 Feb 2023 By Kim Longden Ozymandias is one of my favorite poems to use as an interpretive reading exercise with the kids. In it, a traveler describes the ruins of a statue…
For My Friends Rosemary 10 Jan 202310 Jan 2023 By Kristeen A. Bruun By the rivers of Babylon I sat and wept...How could I sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land? Paraphrase of Psalm 137:1, 4…
Exegetical Study… Walk in Newness of Life 17 Nov 202217 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow We use Romans 6:5 at funerals all the time, but to paraphrase Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that verse; I don’t think it means what you think…
Cultural Studies Your Eternal Life Starts Now 8 Nov 20229 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow In his famous allegorical narrative, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis has his most reliable character say: “Both good and evil, when they are fully grown, become…
Lasts 7 Nov 2022 By Kim Longden I was surprised at church yesterday when my six-year-old daughter asked me to hold her during the liturgy. I almost told her no, that she’s too big;…
Exegetical Study… It is Finished; and … 6 Apr 20221 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow The last words of Jesus on the cross hold deep comfort and promise. And Jesus is still at work, for us. I recently received some concerned feedback…
Exegetical Study Ashes and Curtains 1 Mar 20222 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow “Dust you are and to dust you will return.” Those words, spoken to Adam in Genesis 3:19, come right after the Fall. They are words of judgment;…
For My Friends Ivy for Dana 10 Sep 20211 Nov 2022 By Kristeen A. Bruun I attend a lot of funerals. Partly, as I age, I of course know more people who die. But also, I grew up in a small…
Discipleship Tools Our Resurrection Garden 29 Mar 2021 By Kim Longden One of my family’s favorite Easter traditions centers around the yearly planting of our Resurrection Garden. We started the Resurrection Garden tradition several years ago, and although…
Discipleship Tools The Ash Cross of Ash Wednesday 16 Feb 202117 Feb 2021 By Justin Rossow Even as a kid I loved the quiet, dark, and solemn mood of the Ash Wednesday service. And I’ve always loved receiving the sign of the cross…
Discipleship Tools… Ash Wednesday Keepsakes 15 Feb 2021 By Christi Gerloff I’ve always liked the feel of Ash Wednesday services. There’s just something special about the quiet, somber remembrance of what God did for us through His Son.…
Cultural Studies… A Spiritual Body? 11 Jan 2021 By Conrad Gempf So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised…
For My Friends We Will Rise Up from These Ashes 9 Jul 20209 Jul 2020 By Miriam Rossow It has been almost eight years since we moved to Michigan. We moved in December, had a house to sell in Texas, and so moved into my…
Discipleship Tools… Reflections from “On That Morning” 9 Mar 202031 Mar 2020 By Pat Maier As one of the illustrators for When from Death I'm Free: A Hymn Journal for Holy Week, I was privileged to be the visual artist for the…
Discipling Leaders… Failure and the Cross 6 Mar 202010 Jan 2021 The Next Step PodcastSeason 1: When from Death I'm FreeEpisode 2.2: "You Will Strike His Heal"Date: 06 March 2020Midweek Lenten Sermon Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music. This bonus…
Discipling Leaders… On That Morning 4 Mar 202010 Jan 2021 The Next Step PodcastSeason 1: When from Death I'm FreeEpisode 2: "On That Morning"Date: 04 March 2020Guest: Singer/songwriter Kip Fox, www.kipfox.com Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music. In this…
For My Friends Barbara Ann 27 Jan 2020 My Godmother died in Christ on my 48th birthday. The funeral was at the end of my birthday week, and I was asked to “say a few words.” Having been…
For My Friends A Place to Call Home 6 Oct 201922 Mar 2022 My sister moved this last week, and I got to help just a little. She and her family had been living in the same farm house my grandfather was born…