HILLCITY church

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Good Friday – ‘ a crown for a king’

They made him a crown. Of all the things that were meant to be humiliating, of all the insults, of all the things they could have done - they made him a crown. Most thorns are made to protect, to keep predators away from the plant and keep it safe. Make no mistake, these thorns were not meant to protect, they were meant to hurt. Not only the flesh that they pieced, but the heart of the man that wore…

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Thursday – ‘a not so silent night’

Dinner parties are supposed to be fun. People dress up and gather together over great food and perhaps some wine, to catch up, tell stories, and enjoy one another’s company. Tonight will not be that kind of party. Tonight is a night where the story of the world is changing. Jesus will give his final instructions. He will tell his friends that not only is one of them going to deny him, another about to betray him, but he will…

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Tuesday – ‘a walk to remember’

The walk from Bethany to Jerusalem is less than two miles. The average walking speed of a human is 3.1 miles per hour. This means that the walk to and from Jerusalem each day took Jesus about an hour and a half round trip. That’s a lot of time to think and talk, especially when you’re awaiting something as stressful and traumatizing as death by crucifixion. Conversations with friends and followers are probably a welcome distraction, but also hard, as…

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Monday – ‘the weight of a broken world’

Somebody’s got a case of the Mondays. The swing from Sunday has to be immense. The emotion, the grandeur, the entrance - and now, there is anger, yelling and the tables to overturn in the temple. If Sunday was a day of celebration, Monday is a day of frustration and lament. First there was that tree. Mark 11:12-14 (ESV)  On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in…

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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…

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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…