Returning Thanks
"All that we have and all that we are is from you, O God; we give you but your own." We pray this weekly after taking up the offering. ...
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Pastor Chas
Nov 83 min read
Pledging vs. Giving vs. Tithing
The last couple of Sundays we've been inserting pledge cards in the bulletin. In some ways, this certainly looks like we're asking for...
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Pastor Chas
Nov 55 min read
Necessary Gifts
"The Church is the body of Christ. Christ gives to the Church all the gifts necessary to be his body. The Church strives to demonstrate...
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Pastor Chas
Nov 13 min read
Fall Back and Rest
This weekend, Daylight Saving Time ends. There are a couple of things I always have to look up. The phrase is "Daylight Saving Time,"...
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Pastor Chas
Oct 15 min read
Creativity
Take a moment and try to think something you've never thought before. Is this a hard task? Where do original thoughts come from? How do...
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Pastor Chas
Sep 33 min read
Starting Over and Continuing
On Sunday, September 1st, I reach my "lectionariversary." I made up that word, and I admit that sometimes such things please me a little...
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Pastor Chas
Jul 305 min read
What We Believe, What We Do
Back in the Reformation, when the divine right of kings was still taken for granted and Habsburgs and Medicis wielded all the real...
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Pastor Chas
Jul 25 min read
On Baptism
What does water mean to you? When I started here in Pauls Valley, I started pouring water into the baptismal font at the assurance of...
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Pastor Chas
Jun 46 min read
Who Are We?
When I think about the impact of Jesus' death on the disciples, I first think about Mary Magdalene in the garden on Easter morning. She...
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Pastor Chas
Apr 305 min read
The Holy Spirit is Life
The last time I wrote deeply about the Holy Spirit (in a blog post last October called "The Holy Spirit is Power") I was thinking about...
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Pastor Chas
Apr 171 min read
Confirmation Sunday, April 21
Our Book of Order, the constitution of our denomination, says that, "The baptism of our young children witnesses to the truth that God...
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Pastor Chas
Apr 24 min read
Mark Leaves Easter Up to You
I've kinda been thinking of the homilies I preached on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday as a series. Of course, these events...
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Pastor Chas
Mar 54 min read
Competence, Identity, Honor, Dignity
At the morning Service of Prayer at 8:00AM every weekday, I read the daily lectionary. These scripture selections complement the Sunday...
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Pastor Chas
Feb 64 min read
Prepare, Celebrate, Receive, Do
I was thinking about the annual rhythms of the church year. We call that the "liturgical calendar." The year starts with Advent, which...
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Pastor Chas
Jan 24 min read
Renewal
One of my favorite parts of scripture is Isaiah 43:16-19. "Thus says the Lord, / who makes a way in the sea, / a path in the mighty...
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Pastor Chas
Dec 25, 20233 min read
Christmas Blessings 2023
Dear friends, I have a lot of systematic theology swimming in my head about Christmas. I know, you're surprised, right? I tend to...
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Pastor Chas
Dec 5, 20234 min read
Advent Pondering
Advent is a strange season in the church year. We just celebrated Christ the King Sunday. From the perspective of Christ the King...
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Pastor Chas
Nov 23, 20234 min read
Thanks, then Giving
I've been thinking about thanksgiving (little-t, being grateful and feeling gratitude) in the face of abundance that makes it easy to...
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Pastor Chas
Oct 31, 20234 min read
Communion of the Saints
What does the word "communion" mean? When someone "communes" with nature, they are going outside to be present in the world. This is...
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Pastor Chas
Oct 3, 20234 min read
The Holy Spirit is Power
One of the most profound things I learned is one of those things that's easy to get wrong, but if you stopped and thought about it, you'd...
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