poor – 300 words a day

Advent 12: Poor

I could, I know, talk about how Jesus was tempted. If we were working straight through the book of Luke, we would have to. There was some anticipation there, though I think that the anticipation was mostly on Jesus’ part. I want to skip that and move on to the first recorded sermon from Jesus. […]

by Jon Swanson

Not sure what to do

I’m trying to figure out what to do about Haiti. I know. It sounds dumb. Like it’s up to me to figure out massive physical damage, horrible family destruction, ruined infrastructure. Other people are doing lots of things, from texting donations to holding prayer services. The denomination I’m connected to is looking long-term, planning to […]

by Jon Swanson

like the hypocrites do

[Matthew 6:1-18] The church is full of hypocrites. That’s what people say. I’ve heard it said. It’s hard to argue with that statement, mostly because I look in the mirror. I go to church. I have huge gaps between what I do and what I want to do. I say noble things and don’t do […]

by Jon Swanson

what counts as

Jesus says “”Blessed” nine times at the beginning of the teaching starting in chapter 5. We look at this list, which is called the beatitudes, and try to figure out what Jesus meant. Actually, I think, we try and figure out how we can be part of the list. For example, Jesus says that the […]