Daily Devotional Today's Gospel Lesson, from the Episcopalian Lectionary: John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Children's Sermon: What Does This Mean? Today I spoke to the children in my Children's Chapel, and I told him this. Jesus asked us, as His disciples, to love each other as He has loved us. But what does that mean? How can we turn that Bible verse into an instruction for how we live? I wrote the Bible verse out on little pink construction hearts. Then I cut two larger hearts per person out of contac ..read more

I volunteer as a lay children's ministry assistant at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Keller. Each week, I write a sermon for children's chapel, and today, the sermon almost wrote itself. Good Shepherd by Bernard Plockhurst From the Episcopal Lectionary for May 8, 2022 Jesus is Our Shepherd John 10:22-30 Jesus was walking in the temple in Jerusalem, and many of the Jews came up to Him. They wanted to know if He was the Messiah. Now, remember. The Jews thought the Messiah was going to be a military leader who rescued them from Roman rule. Jesus said, “I already told you that, but you are not liste ..read more

Resurrection Cross, St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, Keller, Texas Easter is not merely one day. It's a season. When Jesus rose from the tomb, His glory on Earth was shown for all to see for a full season later. Here is the cross, once dark and encrusted with blood, now blooming with God's love for us. The Gospel for today: John 20: 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Lent is over and the time for celebration is at hand. Today at St. Martin - in - the - Fields, we CELEBRATED! We had our Easter Festival! And we remember that as we gi ..read more

The Garden Tomb I imagine a woman walking in the very early morning. Maybe she is alone. Maybe she has two women with her. Mary Magdalene Weeping Her eyes are puffy and red. It's been a very dark, sad couple of days. As she trudges toward the tomb, step by step, she goes over it in her anguished mind. They killed Him. One of His best friends, Judas, turned Him over to the Roman Guards. The Sanhedrin growled lies so outlandish that even the Roman governor could tell they were making this stuff up. Pontius Pilate knew this was wrong! How could he... why did he....? And then... oh, oh no. Mary ..read more

Today I am reminded that God is not a white Anglo-Saxon man. He is not of European descent, and the King James' Bible is not the only revelation of His wisdom and grace. He belongs to all people, in all times, and He hears the prayers of all His children in a multitude of languages and traditions. Cleburne was host to Sante Fe Days, a three-day celebration of indigenous American people, their heritage and traditions. George and I paid a visit and were treated to a Powwow. One thing that really caught my attention was the fervent call to prayer, repeated throughout the day at every event. Here ..read more

Episcopal Lectionary Daily Devotional Old Testament Lesson: Exodus 1:15–21 P.P. Bouché You don't always hear a lot about these women of virtue. Their names are forgotten to us, but their deeds live on. They give us an example through the ages. Do the right thing. Don't do it for recognition. Don't do it out of peer pressure. Don't do it because you expect a reward. Do it because it is right. Even if it's hard. Especially if it's hard. Around the time that Moses was born, the Egyptian Pharoah became afraid of the burgeoning Israelite population and demanded that all boy babies born to Jews be ..read more

Episcopal Lectionary for March 30, 2022 Waterfall in Promised Land State Park, Pennsylvania Daily Devotional One fascinating thing I observe when studying the Episcopal Lectionary is how carefully the Old and New Testament lessons fit together. They do not merely couple a pair of lessons by chronology or some other arbitrary criteria; the Old and New Testament lessons together paint an entire picture of God's plan and how He laid it out to the different generations. Today, He takes us to the Promised Land. Isaiah foretells it, and Jesus explains how God keeps His Promise. Old Testament Lesson ..read more

Luke 18:9–14 Barent Fabritius Daily Devotional: The Pharisee and the Publican Boy, Jesus really didn't like Pharisees. He didn't like self-righteous people of any kind, and as we examine this parable we can get a firmer grip on the difference between the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. The Pharisee - The Old Testament Throughout the Pentateuch, Moses is laying down the Law. He's got rules for everything - what to eat, what to wear, and the exact rules for banishing lepers and other sick people from the community. In the Old Testament, a person's righteousness is generall ..read more

Daily Devotional Matthew 18:21–35 It's not always easy to forgive people who have hurt you. One of the things I've been struggling with this Lent is the desire to hold on to old grudges - hurtful things people have said to me, broken promises, and sometimes even profound betrayals. When the injury is grievous, how can you forgive easily? Jesus Reminds Us That We All Need to Forgive Jesus tells us of a servant who owed his master a vast amount of money he could not begin to pay, so his master decided he and his entire family would be sold as slaves. The servant wept and begged for mercy, and h ..read more

Parable of the shrewd manager Daily Devotional, 3/21/2022 Some of Jesus' parables are incredibly beloved, and some are deep and thought-provoking. Then, every once in a while, we get a story that leaves us scratching our heads. How to Succeed in Business By Lying Extensively In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, a wealthy man discovers his manager has been screwing up the accounts and unceremoniously fires him. This reaction seems sensible and straightforward. The manager panics. He's ruined his professional reputation, so nobody will ever hire him again, and he's either too weak, too old, or ..read more