Clotheslines

The 50 days of Easter are coming to a close. Sunday’s Gospel gave us our final visit with Jesus and the apostles at the Last Supper. Jesus is about to leave them…for the second time…on Ascension Thursday which we observed this past. His work on earth was complete. Now it would be up to the apostles to use what they had learned and teach the world. But how could they do that once Jesus was not there to guide them? Enter…the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the “helper” Jesus ta

Who is the Holy Spirit? That was a question on the minds of the apostles when Jesus was talking to them at the Last Supper. He says many things to them on that special night. He tells them not to be troubled but to believe that God is always with them. He tells them there is a place in heaven prepared for each one of them. He tells them that if they believe, they will do even greater works than he has done. He says to ask him for anything, and he will do it. Then he talks abo

This Sunday we were taken back to the Last Supper with Jesus’ final words to his disciples. That might seem like a strange passage since we are in the season of Easter. But—remember—we are approaching Jesus’ Ascension—leaving the disciples a second time, and the words Jesus spoke showed just how much He loves them…and us! Chapters 14 through 17 in John’s Gospel is called Jesus’ Final Discourse most of which is believed to have occurred at the Last Supper. Jesus’ words are pri

The Good Shepherd—one of the most beautiful, pastoral images we have of Jesus. The Shepherd, caring for the sheep, protecting them from harm, always watching over them. Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd and Scripture refers to those who follow Jesus as his sheep. Today, if we were asked to name a one who would take on the job of ‘protector’, we probably wouldn’t think of a shepherd, would we? Of course not! But to the first readers of the Bible, the shepherd was a perfec

The Road to Emmaus…what an amazing story! It’s Sunday evening. Two disciples have left Jerusalem, heading home, sharing their sadness. Jesus is dead, and their hopes for a new beginning dead as well. Suddenly a “stranger” catches up with them on the road. “What are you talking about?” the stranger asks. Shocked at such a ridiculous question, the disciples answer, “Are you the only person who doesn’t know what has happened in the past week?” The stranger responds, “What things

Last week’s Clothesline Edition was missing because my husband Joel and I were away for a week visiting family, returning yesterday. And while I was reading a book on the return flight home, God gave me the perfect message to share with you today. The book is called Chasing Francis. It’s about an Episcopal priest named Chace Falson who has lost his faith. He is asked to take some time away from his mega-parish to sort out his issues. So, he crosses the Atlantic, specifically

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday and we completed our Lenten preaching series on The Body of Christ. The final subject—The heart of Christ beating with love—is perfect to end this study. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the people believed he was coming to free his people, to stamp out the enemy. But where is his army, his weapons? This King does not come as they expect. This King comes with something much more powerful. This King comes with a heart… a hea

Our fifth subject in our Lenten series is: The Ears of Jesus to hear our Prayers. We probably don’t think very much about our ears or the ears of Jesus. But they are quite important. Usually, the only time we think of ears is when they don’t hear! But that’s the one thing we can always count on with Jesus…His ears always hear when we pray. The idea of the Lord listening to our prayers is like an unbroken circle of activity. Our faith causes us to pray. The Lord listens to our

From the first time Jesus appeared on the scene, everyone wanted to see him. And that brings us to the fourth subject of our Lenten journey: The Eyes of Jesus to see our Needs. The Old Testament story of the anointing of David comes to mind. The prophet Samuel comes to the house of Jesse where God will choose the next king of Israel. He asks to see all of Jesse’s sons, and Scripture tells us what they look like: tall, handsome, strong. But God tells Samuel that none of them a

Our Lenten series has been a reminder of the humanness of Jesus, how he fully understands what it’s like to live an earthly life; he lived it himself! We talked about the Feet of Jesus that took him from town to town, preaching and healing, and how we are his feet on earth today. The Hands of Jesus helped and healed, and today we are those same hands to do the same. This week we focused on the Mouth of Jesus to speak God’s Word. Scripture says that God “spoke” and creation be