Claimed, gathered and sent

On Friday mornings, at CPE, I have a Bible study with the residents of one of the memory support areas of a retirement community. Today was the best ever. I had such a sense of God's presence with us. People that normally are not engaged in the singing were singing their hearts out. There was even joy in their eyes. The lesson was from Psalm 30 in The Message translation. Psalm 30 1 I give you all the credit, God— you got me out of that mess, you didn't let my foes gloat. 2-3 God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out. 4-5 All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter. 6-7 When things were going great I crowed, "I've got it ma

This is the message I preached at Bethany Village yesterday. I preached it 4 times in slightly different ways. This was the last one I preached at evening vespers. 7:00 Vespers Sermon How do you imagine God to be? What do you see when you pray? We all have different images of God we see in prayer, which are especially meaningful to us. I used to live in the Holy Land . From my window, I could watch a young shepherd with his sheep and goats. He loved and cared for them. He even played soccer with one of the goats. For me, the image of the Lord as my shepherd in Psalm 23 or Jesus ’ declaration in John 10, “I am the good shepherd,” are very rich and meaningful. Perhaps when you’re lonely or fearful, it is God almighty, the creator God who is your comfort, your protector. Our hymns and songs are full of pictures of God. God walks and talks with us IN THE GARDEN or maybe you see Jesus as the Lover of your soul. Someone living by the sea will have different images that ar

I am now in week 2 of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) in a retirement community that ranges from independent living to skilled nursing. there is an area called Memory Support. These dear people have dementia or Alzheimer's. With these children of God, it is about being with them in the moment. A Bible study for independent retirees looks very different than one for memory support and yet even in an incapacitated state, connections are being made. From their past, they can connect with scripture, old hymns, and the Lord's Prayer. In pondering about the various experiences I am having, I thought of a song we've sung a few times that calls us to self-sacrificing service for God and God's people. Here are the words: The Summons 1. Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? 2. Will you l

Yesterday was my first day of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Bethany Village . This is an experience I have been looking forward to. I have heard wonderful things about this place and its CPE program and supervisor. It was an exhausting first day however. Daily devotions and announcements are part of the morning routine at Bethany and this morning it's my turn to do the devotional part. This is what I'll be sharing with Bethany's residents this morning. Praying According to God’s Will It can be hard and frustrating to know how to pray for yourself or someone else. We know we should pray, we may want to pray, but find ourselves at a loss for words. We cannot pray correctly. As crazy as this may sound, our inability to pray according to God’s will is good news. Hear these words from Scripture: 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And Go