John 3:1-17 NRSV It seems you can test for almost anything online. I recently came across a Shame Test enabling you to self-diagnose whether or not you struggle with shame. Here are some of the questions, and if you answer “Yes” or “Sometimes,” then evidently you have had an encounter with shame:...
Welcome to worship with us this weekend at GCM and GCO! Our Gospel text today finds the disciples being confronted with the reality of the risen Lord. It is here that they move from doubt, to belief, and then to becoming witnesses to all nations. We live in a world...
Dear Church family, Some of you may remember the summer of 1998 when wildfires were raging across numerous counties on the East coast of Florida. Remember not being able to walk outside for several weeks without the acrid smell of smoke? It came to be known as the Florida...
Stepping Into the Light” – January 3rd, 2021 Steve Schantz Good morning Church family and Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a safe and happy start to 2021. A new year can bring a sense of hope, can’t it? 2020 with its disrupted work, travel, education, and worship...
Philippians 2:1-13 Today’s text presents us with three notable insights into one of the earliest expressions of a healthy and mature church—the church in Philippi. First, we get a picture of what was being experienced. Second, we read the content of a hymn used in its worship. And third, we...
The theme for this week is living grace fully which encourages us to move through the world with more thoughtfulness and kindness. The message below is again taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. Ex. 14:19-31 and Ps. 114 tell the story of the parting of the Red Sea, and we can see how recognizing...
(Adapted from the Revised Common Lectionary for 9/6/20) Fulfilling the Law Through Love Rom 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall...
Steve Schantz As we come to Chapters 3 and 4 of The Gift of Being Yourself, The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery, we are encouraged to get to know the parts of ourselves that we would rather hide from. Our broken, or wounded, or shamed selves that we’d rather not...
In what other ways do we learn to experience God? Benner suggests that we practice finding God in everyday life. None of us is truly self-made. If all of our life is the gift of God, then so is our identity. The God in whom we move and breathe...
“Who Am I?” This self-imposed question erupts from deep within every human soul. While not every person may express the same degree of angst at every phase of his/her life, the way that we go about life casting ourselves in a certain role and presenting ourselves in a certain light reveals...