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The Gardener: Easter Sunday 2026

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. At that time, it was formless, dark and empty. Nothing but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And so, he made light and separated it from the darkness. And he said it was good. On the second day, he separated the waters…air and ocean. And he said it was good. Then he separated land and water. Day three he began planting a garden, with a beautiful plan of provision and sustainability, and beauty. And he said that it was good.  On the fourth day he gathered up light into the sun, and planted the moon and the stars, to help track the passing of time, and special days. Day 5 he filled this place with dolphins and flamingos, giraffes and elephants. And puppies. But on the sixth day, he made a team of gardeners. Both in his own image…male and female. Finally, day seven God rested from this work and enjoyed the companionship of the gardeners. And for awhile they lived together in his perfect garden, caring for his perfec...
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Palm Sunday: Welcome to the Upside Down Kingdom

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This Palm Sunday kind of hits different. If you're like me, I'm finding it a little harder to judge the crowd this time around. Because, like them, I kind of wish someone would ride into town and fix all this. Not later. Now. And not on a donkey. Maybe something with a little more "umph."  Like the people there, I can get an idea in my head of how God should operate, and usually my imagination for Holy things falls short. The people gathered weren't dumb or bad like we sometimes like to portray them. They had good reason to want what they wanted. They had good reason to be a little confused. Because things were bad. And things were confusing.   To set the scene, I’m borrowing a little from something I read in N.T. Wright's commentary on the Book of John… Imagine you’ve been in a coma, and you wake up unsure of what time of year it even is. But there are signs.  Maybe there are chocolate bunnies lining the shelves of Walgreens, little girls running around in fo...
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Yes, And...Thoughts on John 11

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This week The Table community talked a little about grief. I don’t mean to be a downer or make it weird but I have experience with grief. We’ve had miscarriages, both early and late, and in a lot of ways…. grief is grief. I’ve watched three different people, my dad, Dan’s mom, and Dan’s grandma, take their last breath. I’ve lost a dear friend at 33 and her daughter at 16. And, being in ministry I have been to an extraordinary amount of funerals The text we read last week was about an unusual end of life and "funeral" story. If you’ve seen The Chosen, I feel like it sets this part up really well. Jesus and his disciples are kind of hunkered down because lots of people want to kill them. Jesus gets word from his friends Mary and Martha that his friend, their brother, Lazarus is extremely sick. Please come. He waits. Says it won’t end in death and God would be glorified. Then suddenly one day he tells his disciples, Lazarus is asleep. We must go. And they’re very confused…if h...
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