My Great Aunt Sophie Ommedal passed away earlier this week at the impressive age of 100. Sophie had just celebrated her birthday a week and a half earlier. Sophie was impressive, to say the least. She graduated valedictorian, one of many in her extended family. She served as an organist and church musician, also one of many in her extended family. She lived the longest … Continue reading Great Aunt Sophie
On Wednesday March 15th, I was invited to lead worship and preach at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Valley, Nebraska. For their mid-week Lenten series, they are reflecting about people of faith, and the focus for the evening was on Abraham. I was invited to preach on Hebrews 11:1, 8-22, and to share thoughts about stewardship. What follows is the majority of the manuscript that … Continue reading Faith Like Abraham- Stewarding God’s Promises, Seen and Not Seen
Today is my Dad’s birthday. I have already had a great phone call conversation wishing him a happy day today, and last week we got to celebrate a week early in person with a wonderful steak dinner out in Nebraska. But today, in honor of my Dad’s birthday, I want to share some personal reflections about my family. As I look proudly and gratefully at … Continue reading My Family- Happy Birthday Dad!
The following is a portion of a blogpost that I wrote that appears on the COMPASS blog. Please enjoy this sample, and then read the whole post over at COMPASS. Student loans? Broken down cars? How am I ever going to pay this off? Those are some pretty normal reactions to debt, and ones we have heard a little bit about this past month on … Continue reading New Engine, New Tires & Luke – Faith in the face of debt
The following is the manuscript of the sermon I shared Sunday October 2nd at Messiah Lutheran in Aurora, Nebraska. The sermon was grounded in the appointed gospel lesson from the revised common lectionary, Luke 17:5-10; and included some reflection on the congregation’s stewardship theme, “Live Simply” based on 1 Timothy 6:18-19; as well as words of welcome and introduction in my role as Director for Stewardship … Continue reading Faith, Abundant Life, and Living Simply
I am in the midst of a two-week series leading my congregation’s confirmation class in thinking about money and stewardship. Part of the first session was to paint a picture about money, and some of what the Bible has to say about it. This week’s session will be more about what it means to be a steward and how that is part of our vocation … Continue reading Money Questions from Middle Schoolers
The following is the majority of the sermon that I preached at Messiah Lutheran Church this weekend based on the readings for Easter 4C, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The readings included: Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, and John 10:22-30. I did something I don’t usually do when preaching, breaking into a couple short Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and/or camp songs. Special thanks goes to Allison for … Continue reading Sheep, the Good Shepherd, and Promises
At the heart of Maundy Thursday, is Jesus’ commandment, “That you love one another, just as I have loved you.” I have written about that before. As I think about this holy day today though, I am struck by the question Jesus asks right after washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus asks, “Do you know what I have done to you?” No answer is given. It’s … Continue reading Do You Know What I Have Done to You?
As I have done in previous Lents I am sharing a daily reflection as part of my Lenten discipline. This year I am using the “Wilderness Wanderings” theme compiled by the “Lent Photo a Day” group. The word appointed for February 28th was “Wall.” Today, I am thinking about walls. Walls are barriers. They are built for safety or in response to fear. Lately, the idea … Continue reading Wall
Timothy Siburg 