HILLCITY church

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Palm Sunday – “they were crying save us”

Save us. They had been crying, save us. I would imagine as Jesus rode down the streets of this otherwise familiar city, now filled with the voices of hundreds, he had to be experiencing the irony of this moment. They did need to be saved, but not from what they were thinking of. Yes, the Romans were oppressive, keeping them from truly engaging or living out their faith. Sure, they had taxes to pay, and laws to follow, but overall…

Control Freaks

I wish spring would make up it’s mind. Here in Wisconsin it has been a week of sun and 70’s followed by one rain and 40’s. I know it’s probably normal, but it still isn't fun. We had our windows open last weekend, enjoying the breeze, and who knows, tomorrow I might need to turn the furnace back on. If I believed Mother Nature to be a real person, I would want to punch her in the face. I have…

letters

I am broken. I struggle. There are many days I do not know that I will make it through. Such is the life of a person. Not a person defined by a set of letters or a medical diagnosis, but a person who lives in this falling world. All of us struggle. All of us hurt. All of us are parts of a whole that has never quite been put together. In this and many other ways, I am no…

New music friday

Tomorrow is Friday. That’s a good thing for many reasons, but one of my favorite is that Friday is ‘new music day.’ It used to be Tuesday, but now it’s Friday. There’s probably an algorithm or some sort of smart marketing strategy that decided that, but no matter, it’s new music on Friday. I’ve been thinking about my love for new music, probably too much to be honest, but the thing I can’t quite put my finger on is the…

Sunday

It started with fear. Fear and trembling. There should be a body, why wasn't there a body?! It morphed into anger. They had taken him. They had TAKEN HIM. WHERE HAD THEY TAKEN HIM?!?! It swelled into confusion. Who was this man? Why was he talking to me? Where had he come from? Didn’t he know I was looking for…. Jesus. Couldn't be… “Mary.” Wait, this was… JESUS! Are you serious!? Is this happening!? I have to tell them. They’ll…

Holy Saturday

This was the longest day. In the history of humanity, this must have been the longest day. Had it really happened? Was it all just a bad dream? It couldn't have been a dream, they hadn't slept in days. He was gone. It was sinking in now. The truth of it all - the reality of what lay ahead. The shame. The mocking. The truth. He was gone. For all his talk of a new life and kingdom, it was…

Good Friday

Dead. There are few words like it. But that’s what he was. Dead. The man who had once brought life to so many, both spiritually and physically. The man who had convinced others to give their lives to God in ways they never thought possible. The man who had promised the coming a new kingdom they would all be a part of, was dead. Not that most of them were there to see it. All but John had run away,…

Maunday Thursday

Awkward. That’s the best way to describe that dinner. First there was the whole ‘one of you is going to betray me’ thing. Judas wasn't so much a fan of that. Then there was the part where Peter told Jesus ‘I will never leave you even if everyone else does’, and Jesus said ‘actually Peter, I’m going to single you out and say that you’re going to deny me three times before the sun rises.’ And all of that was…

Wednesday

Betrayal. Even the word makes stomachs turn. The idea of having someone, anyone take the faith you’ve placed in them and use it against you, makes skin crawl. It kills relationships. It breaks hearts. It destroys trust. There is not much in the world that is worse than being betrayed. Especially by one of your best friends. I sometimes wonder how Jesus even looked at Judas from this point. Knowing full well what was going on. The man who has…