"A New Commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, love one another." How can Jesus command love, something seemingly impossible to command? And what might it mean to love others as Jesus has loved us? To get at these questions, we look at the setting of Jesus giving this new commandment, namely, when he washes the disciple's fee…

Easter IV (May 11 2025) What is your “full name” — the thing that people say after your name that completes their description of you? For example, “That is Jane, she is a great teacher” or “That is Sam, he is an amazing basketball player” Today we learn the full name of an early believer in the book of Acts (9:36-43): Tabitha, aka Dorcas, “was alwa…

Easter III (May 4, 2025) The story seems like comfortable at first: The disciples go fishing, they eat breakfast with Jesus and then Peter tells Jesus he loves him. (John 21:1-17) But once you start digging, you realize this is a story about the power of shame. Peter is ashamed of his denial of Jesus and this manifests itself in all sorts of typica…

Easter 2025 Easter is a time of memories, including memories of our loved ones who have died. The first Easter, in fact, began with a trip the place of memories — the word for tomb in Greek is memory! A reflection on memories and how the resurrection changes everything, including how we understand our memories. The image comes from the Kid’s Corner…

Good Friday 2025 Where you there? It is a more haunting question than it sounds. (Based on the passion of John, found in chapters 18-19). In the end, yes, yes, you and I were there.By Pastor Robert Myallis

Palm Sunday (April 13, 2025) What does it mean to have power? The Roman Empire displayed a type of power we know: The ability to get what you want, when you want it. Their imperial parades were the example of power, as the leaders rode in on majestic horses. You could call this horse power. Jesus offered a different vision of power: The ability to …

Lent V (April 6, 2025) Who are people with whom you can share your joy and happiness? In our world of work, school, activities and even family, this kind of friendship and community is surprisingly rare. Too many relationships have competition, jealousy and shame for this to happen readily. As we wrap up the book of Ruth, we encounter a rejoicing N…

Lent IV (March 30, 2025) We know well the look of the older brother in the painting. His whole body shouts: “It’s not fair!” He is not wrong. As the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-35) plays itself out, the story is unfair. Which justifiably angers the older brother. As humans, we all protest when we don’t think things are fair. In order to…

Lent 3 (March 23, 2025) Life Together — our Lenten theme — sounds great, but what about the times we found ourselves as an outsider? Pastor Rob reflects outsider-insider dynamics by looking at the book of Ruth, as Ruth begins her new life in Bethlehem (Ruth 2:1-7). As we work with the story, we see that at certain points in our lives, we are like R…

Lent 2 (March 16, 2025) Naomi, Ruth and Orpah are three women who are grieving (Ruth 1). The deaths they have encountered force them to make tough decisions that include both separation but also deeper connection. When we experience loss, through death, break-ups or illness, it often impacts our relationships. Some come to an end; others are new or…

Lent 1 (March 9, 2025) Two truths and a lie – a game we’ve probably all played. Today, the devil plays a far higher stakes version of the game, sowing a lie amidst the truth as he tempts Jesus. This Lent we are focusing on Life Together; there is nothing more toxic to life together than lies. And while lying has always been part of the human story …

Eat Less Fear; Behold More Glory We eat a LOT of fear in daily lives. This works disease in our souls, blinding us to God’s glory and blocking us from living as disciples. In the Transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:28-38), we learn another path of dealing with fear and beholding the glory of God: Going to the mountain, praying and listening to Jesus. …

February 23, 2025 “Love your enemies… Turn the other cheek.” (Luke 6) Does Jesus know how the world works? Turns out that Jesus knows very well how the world works: He knows our world needs mercy. In fact, he invites us into the heavenly family business of mercy. A reflection on the possibility and even necessity of loving our enemy.…

February 9, 2025 Jesus calls Peter and his fellow fishermen to push out their boat a little and then cast their nets into the deep. In the same way, Jesus calls us. Sometimes this call is for something small; other times for something that seems riskier and harder. Peter laments this call of Jesus, saying that he is worn and the fish aren’t moving.…

February 2, 2025 Love is patient and love is kind. Yet the people want to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:18-30)! Where is the love? Pastor Rob offers that the people in Jesus’ hometown do have love, it is just misguided and blinding. We struggle with this today as well as our love can be misguided and blinding. Our love of one person or one group …

3 Epiphany (Sunday, January 26, 2025) Today we hear Jesus’ inauguration speech as he gives his first sermon (Luke 4:11-21). In this sermon, Jesus lays out the fundamental direction of his ministry: Uplifting the poor By…opening the eyes and hearts of the rich to share what they have so that… all may live in a “body” that loves God and loves neighbo…

January 19, 2025 Today St. Paul celebrates the confirmation of five adults. (Confirmation is a public affirmation by a teen or adult of their baptism, which typically happened at a younger age). The story of Jesus turning water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11) provides a framework for thinking through: What then are we confirming? We are confirming …

January 12, 2025 (Baptism of Jesus) Today we have a special event at St. Paul — the Baptism of five youth/older children. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the question — what do we want to pass along to the next generation about faith? What is most important to know about our Baptisms and our life as a disciple of Jesus? Pastor Rob offers t…

Christmas II/Epiphany (January 5, 2025) What are your resolutions, dreams and goals for 2025? Are they about your star rising or orienting your life to the one who causes the stars to rise? Pastor Rob recommends “S.T.A.R.” goals, reflecting on the journey of the magi (aka wisemen)By Pastor Robert Myallis

Christmas Eve 2024 How do you measure time? Luke's Gospel offers us a number of ways By who is in power By months of pregnancy By grass growth in the fields By beginning relationships and births within families These are all familiar in our lives. So far, so good. But the angels point toward another reality though, that somehow Jesus life is beyond…

Advent 4 (Dec 22, 2024) In countless Christmas movies, the plot remains the same: Something has jeopardized Christmas. If the characters don’t get their acts together and love, cheer, sing and believe enough, Christmas might just not happen — the sleigh might not have enough Christmas Spirit to run!! All too often, we function like the people in th…

Advent 3, 2024 There are no “small” roles! When Elizabeth discovers that Mary is pregnant with Jesus, Elizabeth does something amazing (Luke 1:39-55). Instead of feeling threatened that her own pregnancy would be overshadowed, she rejoices and magnifies Mary’s joy. What allows Elizabeth to do the almost divine thing here, to celebrate, free of jeal…

Advent 2 (Dec 8, 2024) Pastor Rob begins his sermon by admitting that he has an obsession with correctly loading the dishes. It turns out for that task — and for many others — we need information. Mary is given the world’s biggest task, namely, bear the son of God in her womb. Yet, God gives her an incredibly little amount of information. Why is th…

Advent 1 (December 1, 2024) Did you know that Barbie was launched on March 9, 1959? It turns out that the makers of the Barbie movie made the odometer of the car read “030959” in homage to this date. This is one of many “Easter Eggs” in the film; many films have “Easter Eggs”, references to other films or historical events. You likely miss them the…

Christ the King Sunday (Nov 24, 2024) The trial scene of Jesus before Pilate has two witnesses, one testifying to the power of love (Jesus); one testifying to the love of power (Pilate). After reflecting on how we see these two worldviews colliding throughout history, both in secular society but also in the church, Pastor Rob brings it back to our …