In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:26-28) I … More The With-God Life: Annunciation
As I’ve been seeking to spend more time with God this month, I’ve often prayed before morning devotions that God would help me see the daily lectionary text with new eyes, that familiar words might take on an unfamiliar meaning. But this morning, as I opened to Colossians 1, I realized right away that those … More The With-God Life: “We have not ceased praying for you”
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. (Psalm 146:5-7) It’s reassuring to start another week … More The With-God Life: “Do not put your trust in princes”
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They … More The With-God Life: Seeing Worship Anew
After a quiet first three months of 2020, it was a busy week at The Pietist Schoolman: • With Christian colleges like mine moving online, I shared my plans for teaching my courses remotely. • Realizing the need to spend more time with God, I started a series of daily lectionary reflections with a beloved psalm, … More That Was The Week That Was
I started this series with my desire to spend more time with God. In today’s lectionary text, we read that Jesus was (is, will be) with God outside of time: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John … More The With-God Life: “He was in the beginning with God”
Having started our series with David’s description of God as a good shepherd, today the lectionary takes us backwards in the story of Israel: to Saul, and a harder story of life with God. As 1 Samuel 15 begins, Saul is the king God chose for the Israelites; as it ends, God is “sorry that … More The With-God Life: Saul and Samuel
Yesterday I started thinking out loud about my plans for converting my courses at Bethel University into online offerings. Part one summarized some basic principles I’m trying to follow, then explained my plans for a 100-level gen ed survey. Today: my two 200-level History courses… HIS/POS252L History and Politics of Sports Course description and students: … More How I’m Planning to Teach Online (part 2)
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4) As I wrote last night about the idea of starting this series of daily reflections, I looked ahead in the daily lectionary to find Psalm 23 assigned for … More The With-God Life: The Good Shepherds of 2020
“How do you spend time with God?” That’s the question my brother-in-law asked me tonight. He didn’t mean to ask me — at least, not me in particular. Dan is a Lutheran pastor in rural Iowa. Like clergy of all denominations and all religions, he’s trying to figure out how to serve a congregation that … More “How do you spend time with God?”
The Pietist Schoolman 