In the assigned Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and...

This week, Covenant will observe “Baptism of Our Lord Sunday.” The assigned Gospel text includes Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. Baptism is an act of “coming out.” It’s going public about who you are and your spiritual allegiance on your faith journey. At Covenant we describe baptism as...

This Sunday, two days before Christmas, is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The theme is Love. Many of us are busy with our last preparations for Christmas. Advent is meant to be a season of spiritual preparation. It seems that more than ever we need to be “Preparing for the...

This week we observe the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete in Latin mean “Rejoice.” As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, we also live in expectation of the second coming of Christ. This Sunday our focus includes joy and gladness and taking the time...

This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Advent. A friend of mine wrote this week “Advent is the season of preparation. The church calls us to spend four weeks getting ready, not for Christmas, but for Christ. Is it possible that, if we do our work well, “The Prince of...

This week, the first verse of the assigned gospel text references yet another encounter of the disciples with Jesus after the Resurrection. Jesus’s standard greeting right before and immediately following the resurrection is “Peace be with you.” I believe we miss many opportunities, gifts and blessings from God because we...

This week we observe the Third Sunday of Advent. It’s one of two Sundays when the liturgical color is rose … okay pink. We will light the third Advent (Pink) candle which symbolizes joy; the joy we feel to welcome Jesus in Christmas. The assigned Gospel text is “The Magnificat,”...

Last Sunday I preached on Covenant’s Vision Statement. This Sunday I will preach on Covenant’s Mission Statement. People often confuse or don’t understand the difference between them. A mission differs from a vision in that the mission is the cause and the vision is the effect. In other words, if...

Thursday, May 25 is the actual day of observance for the Day of Ascension; we will commemorate the Ascension this Sunday. The reading from Acts 1, asked this question of the people present for this event: “Why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” It’s a question worth exploring. This...

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Easter. Because Easter moves around year to year, many of the assigned Gospel readings during the Easter Season are Resurrection stories. Such is the case with The Road to Emmaus Story assigned for this Sunday. Even if you are not a country music...