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Mark’s gospel, 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23, depicts Jesus as challenging the traditional ways in which religious people, the Pharisees, determine what is pure or impure. Aren’t we like the Pharisees? We don’t like change or challenges to evolve. We police our boundaries. We are self righteous. We decide who’s in and who’s out. Sometimes based on political…
On this 14th Sunday after Pentecost, our Gospel (John 6:56-69) tells of the disciples being offended by Jesus’s claim that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood. Jesus told them he is the bread that comes from heaven and whoever eats this bread will live forever. With that, Jesus gave his disciples…
Do you know what’s fun about St. Mark Softball? I mean – REALLY fun? It’s having a group of players come together on Friday evenings throughout the summer and play some power-packed games of softball with other church teams from around the Thurston County area. We get to share in spirited fellowship, do some laughing, giggling,…
Pastor David Nelson’s sermon brought us the “back story” of King Solomon and his request for wisdom (1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14). God grants Solomon’s request and he becomes known far and wide for his great wisdom; his ability to understand and govern great numbers of people. The Bible shows, however, that there were other versions of…
A group of about 50 people from St Mark Lutheran Church and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church met at Gloria Dei for 4 consecutive weeks to discuss a document which is circulating nationwide titled “Reclaiming Jesus: A Confession of Faith in a Time of Crisis”. That document, which is signed by a large number of religious…
On this 12th Sunday after Pentecost, John 6:35,41-51 is today’s Gospel. After feeding more than five thousand people in the wilderness, Jesus teaches them regarding the true significance of this remarkable sign. Pastor David Nelson said that today’s lessons ask us to recall and remember foods for the journey of our lives. Jesus is the…
The theme for several weeks, in the Gospel of John, has been bread. In our Gospel for today, John 6:24-35, Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, identifying with the most basic of foods; simple, everyday sustenance. Pastor Nelson reminded us that the simple bread becomes a feast when many share the eucharist together. The bread…
Today’s Gospel (John 6:1-15) reminds us that Jesus saw the hunger and need for nourishment, and provided food for the 5000. He turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into enough to feed the crowd, until all were satisfied. Today, even though we are blessed with abundance, we are often too concerned with carbs…
Naps are a good thing! Pastor David Nelson emphasized this during his time with the children and in his sermon based on today’s Gospel (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56). Jesus told his disciples to rest after they had traveled much and taught many. They tried to get away to a “deserted place by themselves”. But they were…
Sometimes, you need the whole story. Mark’s gospels are kind of like a detective story with everything pointing to the Cross. Today was Mark 6:14-29 telling of the beheading of John the Baptist. All sorrows can be bourn if you put them into a story. Retired Pastor David Nelson said he wonders if this is…