"The Lenten journey is a journey of opportunity to regain the clarity in the differences between foolishness and wisdom, strength and humble courage, to recognize we are God’s children many times in need of lessons from children." What have you learned so far on your Lenten journey? // 1 Corinthians 1:25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. // This episode was written and recorded by Michael Thomas, a member of The Riverside Church...
Mar 11, 2021•8 min
"Like a grain of wheat falls into a compost pile, Jesus falls into the earth. The damp and still and timeless earth. The quiet earth, except for the faint percussion of the blind critters who tiptoe over the beads of transforming matter." When was the last time you really noticed the natural world around you? // John 12:20-33 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus...
Mar 10, 2021•9 min
"This Lenten season I am, with God's help, fasting despair and helplessness. And I have work to do, loving up God's fair garden through prayer and advocacy. Loving God, make me your instrument in this work. Amen." What would it look like for you to fast from despair and helplessness? // Psalm 19:1-6 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; the...
Mar 09, 2021•13 min
"These commandments are about relationships and the value, the precious gift, of life. They guide our relationship to God: have no other God before me, do not make idols of God, respect God's name. They guide our relationships within the community of the faithful. Those relationships ought to be characterized by honor and respect of person and property. We are to speak the truth and not worry about what others have, content with who we are and what we have." How would you describe the ten comman...
Mar 08, 2021•8 min
"The precious gift of Lent is that we have 40 days to re-orient ourselves from the navel-gazing self-centered, private chambers of our minds to the multi-dimensional, infinite diversity around us. We take our focus off of ourselves and we look around to the people around us we have missed. And when we reorient ourselves to see and love our neighbor, we find ourselves with Jesus." In your own words, how would you describe the season of Lent? // Philippians 2: 3-8 Do nothing from selfish ambition ...
Mar 07, 2021•6 min
"I bring you my pain, I give you my sorrow. I offer my shame, the threat of tomorrow." What are you bringing with you as you journey through the season of Lent? // If we don’t learn how to weep over the broken parts of our lives and the brokenness of the world, we will further break our lives and the world. But another way is possible. Healing is possible. Wholeness is possible. Our wounds don’t disappear, but they can truly become a channel for the river of new life to flow. This holy river usu...
Mar 06, 2021•17 min
"Jesus chose to give in a world that takes, to love in a world that hates, to heal in a world that injures, to give in a world that kills. And with each choice Jesus denied himself shows the world that God is present." How have you found God to be present in your life and in our world over this past year? // Mark 8:31-38 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three d...
Mar 05, 2021•10 min
"God will always be there with us in the humiliation, in the pain, in the degradation. And violence and empire and even death will not get the last word." How have you seen God present in the midst of humiliation, pain, and degradation? // Mark 8:31-38 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him asid...
Mar 04, 2021•11 min
"It's time for a radical hope, a belief, a faith, even, that it doesn't have to be this way. Hope for something more. Hope that all will eat and be satisfied. For this good God is working mightily, laboring, birthing, working that we, a people yet unborn may truly know abundant life." In your own words, how would you define radical hope? // Psalm 22:23-31 You who fear the Lord, praise God! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify God; stand in awe of God, all you offspring of Israel! For God did not ...
Mar 03, 2021•8 min
"Lament is not always quiet. Lament is also a complaint that things are not the way God intended them to be. The Psalm writers shout at God, 'Listen! Remember! Vindicate! Save!' Our laments need to be fully voiced in protest and not denied or swept under the rug. " When was the last time you gave yourself permission to lament? // Lament Psalm Twenty Seven by Ann Weems O God of my heart, it is your name I call when the stars do not come out. O God of my soul, it is to you I turn when the torrents...
Mar 02, 2021•11 min
"May we recognize in one another that we share our humanity, that we share our history, that we share our planet, and let that spur us on to greater love in and for one another." In your own words, what is a "one another ethic"? // Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on h...
Mar 01, 2021•7 min
"Even in life’s most difficult circumstances, are we willing to trust God? Are we willing to keep singing our songs of victory before the battle is won, knowing God will guide us through our trouble? We must continue singing, even with weary throats. It is with that great hope that we, too, can join with the saints of old:" Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us ...
Feb 28, 2021•7 min
"We will make it through this because we will make it through this together. If there is a bridge over these troubled waters, it will be the one that we build together. But more than anything else, more than any bridges that need to be built, we must remember that sometimes the only response is to weep." Who has been present with you during the difficulties of the past year? // John 11:35 Jesus wept. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include ...
Feb 27, 2021•11 min
"The wilderness is a dangerous place. You only go there if you have to. As we begin our journey into lent may we enter with courage into the deserts we can't choose or avoid. May our long stints in the wilderness teach us who we really are – the precious and beautiful children of God. And when the angels and all their sweet and secret guises whisper the name "beloved" into our ears may we listen and believe them." What "wilderness" have you experienced that has taught you who you really are? Whe...
Feb 26, 2021•11 min
"God is present in this damp, drizzly season of your soul. God is present when it is all you can do to not methodically knock people's hats off. Breath deeply. Remember your baptism. God is with us, always." What reminds you that God is always with you? // 1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to t...
Feb 25, 2021•9 min
"God gently reminds me that as frustrating and scary as things may be now, worrying about it will come to nothing. Make no mistake, our collective anxiety is real and valid, and the world is still pretty terrifying and the repercussions of this pandemic are devastating and maddening. But one day, at least for one shining moment, we, too, will give up our worrying, and go out into that morning, singing." What do you do when you are worried? // Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry a...
Feb 24, 2021•8 min
"Waiting doesn’t have to be a passive moment, hoping this one will pass and another will arrive. But it can be active, an opportunity to be present, and to find God no matter how long the wait." What do you do when you find yourself waiting? // Psalm 25:5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Entwinement by Podington...
Feb 23, 2021•8 min
"The arc of God's promise is wide enough, expansive enough, inclusive enough to cover every living creature on earth. No exceptions. May we, by faith, today, live in the promise that God will keep us through any storm. And God will." Where have you found God in the midst of storms in your life and in our world? // Genesis 9:8-17 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is...
Feb 22, 2021•7 min
"We often talk about “killing” time or “wasting” time, as if time is an enemy rather than a friend, a curse rather than a blessing. Lent invites us to reclaim time as a gift—a gift to enjoy, to use wisely, and to share. Especially in this period of time’s disruption and distortions, Lent helps to ground us in our timeless faith. Thanks be to our good and gracious God, who never loses track of us." What is your relationship with time? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lynn Casteel ...
Feb 21, 2021•6 min
"According to Jesus the way that we show that we belong to his movement is that we love one another and that we act out our love by being kind to one another." How has someone shown you kindness recently? How can you show kindness to someone today? // John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Cameron Trimble. The cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water was performed by Victory Boyd. This episode...
Feb 20, 2021•20 min
"God is not crushing us. As we face these days of Judgment, of wrath, brought on by ourselves, brought on by evil in this world, brought on by systemic failure, I don't ask God, 'What did we do to deserve this?' I ask God, 'where shall I go to cry? Will you weep with me?'" Where do you find God when you're experiencing a "judgment day"? // Joel 2:1-2, 12-14 Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem. Shout a warning on my holy mountain. Let all the people who live in the land shake with fear. The Lord’s day ...
Feb 19, 2021•7 min
"It is this journey of togetherness that will bring us to God. It is this journey of togetherness that will bring God to us. Because God has called us as a people and God will sustain us as a community. We will get there together." Where have you found "togetherness" during this past year? How can you share "togetherness" during this season of Lent? // Psalm 19:10-12, 15-17 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do...
Feb 18, 2021•8 min
"Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the work, the tilling of the soil, the planting of the seeds. We find ourselves covered with a layer of dust, dirt, ash as this season begins with the hope of something new growing in us and in spite of us." What does Ash Wednesday mean to you? // “From dust you came and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:19 // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Autumn by Great Oak...
Feb 17, 2021•8 min
Into the Darkest Hour by Madeleine L’Engle It was a time like this, war & tumult of war, a horror in the air. Hungry yawned the abyss – and yet there came the star and the child most wonderfully there. It was a time like this of fear & lust for power, license & greed and blight – and yet the Prince of bliss came into the darkest hour in quiet & silent light. And in a time like this how celebrate his birth when all things fall apart? Ah! Wonderful it is: with no room on the earth,...
Dec 24, 2020•8 min
"We need not fear the dark. Not the dark of winter nor the dark of these tumultuous times. God is with us and like a loving mother, God will bring us home." What does “home” mean to you? In your own words, what does it mean for God to “bring us home”? // Zephaniah 3:14, 20 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all t...
Dec 23, 2020•9 min
"As we each endure through the valleys and mountaintops of our lives, we can plant our soul in the love that stands firm for us and shine hope for eternity within our every relationship." How has love helped you endure the valleys and mountaintops of your life? // Psalm 89:1-2 A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faith...
Dec 22, 2020•7 min
"Open your eyes to what's broken and missing and wrecked all around you and use everything you have to heal it up, repair it, rebuild it." What can you heal up, repair, and rebuild in the world around you? // Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. // This episode was written and recorded by Shauna Niequist. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington ...
Dec 21, 2020•7 min
"The love that requires daily expression in public and in private — this is the love to which we are called as followers of love incarnate, the love that is already and always with us." In your own words, how would you describe the love that we are called to? // Luke 1:46-55 “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great ...
Dec 20, 2020•7 min
O come, Desire of nations, bind All peoples in one heart and mind; Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. In your own words, what does it mean for the whole world to be filled with heaven's peace? // This episode was recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer, the Minister of Children & Families at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear. *Correction: These verses were written by Henry S...
Dec 19, 2020•4 min
"Into a time of anger and loss and fear, a child was born. A child that was love and hope and light. And we remember his name – Emmanuel – God is with us." As you look back on your year, what are the memories that will sustain you, even in the darkest of times? // Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one...
Dec 18, 2020•7 min
