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Articles by Jonathan M. Eastman
Thursday Pulpit: Seeds of inspiration
Jesus told a lot of parables from everyday life. His stories and parables hold our attention because, even though they’re about ordinary people in ordinary situations — wedding guests, farmers building barns, planting seeds, shepherds — the punchline is often counterintuitive. A shepherd leaves his flock of 99 sheep to go off and search for one that got lost. No one would do that. A responsible shepherd would not risk the whole flock, leaving them unprotected to find one who got lost.
Thursday Pulpit: The good life
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom." — James 3:13 What is a good life and how do you live it? I imagine that most of us have an inkling of what a good life is or should be. It seems in our culture it’s about having the right opinion about the issues we face, whatever that issue might be.
Thursday Pulpit: Tradition vs. change - the debate continues
There are days when I find it so disheartening that people, particularly people of faith, have such caustic disagreements.
Thursday Pulpit: Blessings, with a twist
Maybe the best way to understand what Jesus wanted his followers to know and become is laid out in Jesus’ sermon on the mount, and more particularly in the opening lines known at the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are a list of people who are blessed, or favored, by God. Just looking at the Beatitudes you can see that they are more poetry than prose. Each statement gets its own line on the page. There is a clear pattern to the sentences.
Thursday Pulpit: Who tells your story
“History is written by the victors,” or, if you prefer, “History is written by the winners.” Two quotes attributed to various authors. Certainly worth considering in a world where “facts” are disputed and refuted depending upon to whom you listen. It’s an issue that arises for any good theologian or Biblical scholar as we try to understand the history and context of our faith. Take the introductions of the first four books of the New Testament. Each of the Gospels begins in a unique way.
Thursday Pulpit: The silence of God
I think Advent may be my favorite season of the church year. When the weather turns colder and daylight grows short, there’s a feeling of hibernation that comes over me. I want to hunker down, drink hot tea, wrap up in a blanket, and just be cozy. In the church, we say Advent is a season of waiting, a time of longing for God to do God’s thing and renew our lives, setting us on a path that leads to healing.
Thursday Pulpit: The things that unite us
Last month I preached on hospitality using a passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome where he wrote, “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with — even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently ... ” (Romans 14:1 in The Message Translation).
Thursday Pulpit: Rest for the weary
When was the last time you took time to just rest? There are people who don’t even know how to rest anymore (and there are others whose lives are so precarious they can’t even imagine having time to rest — that actually is a topic for another time. Suffice it to say, there are more and more of these folks in our society these days and those of us who have the time to rest would do well to show compassion for their stresses). In our culture, we see rest as weak.
Thursday Pulpit: God is with us, always
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. These are words from the prophet Isaiah chapter 43. It’s a word of comfort in the face of danger. Throughout their history, the people of Israel had heard stories about water. Noah built an ark to survive a flood.
Thursday Pulpit: Reevaluating our stories
A couple weeks ago, good friends were visiting us. We were catching up when Susan said, "I’m relooking at the stories I tell about my life and am trying to see them in a more realistic light." Her comment stuck with me and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since. It seems this century has begun a reordering of our stories. The story of our country, the story of the Church, the story of who we are and what we value.
Thursday Pulpit: Embrace courage in these challenging times
Thursday Pulpit: Embrace courage in these challenging times Return to homepage × Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time. Already a subscriber? Log in or Activate your account. Loading&hellp; × Sign Up Today and Support Local Journalism Enjoy more articles from Napa Valley's Most Trusted Information Source. Subscribers can log in for unlimited digital access “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going.
Thursday Pulpit: We have a choice: The world as is or could be?
Thursday Pulpit: We have a choice: The world as is or could be? × You have run out of free articles. You can support our newsroom by joining at our lowest rate! Already a subscriber? Log in or Activate your account. Loading&hellp; {{html}} Thanks for being a subscriber. Sorry, your subscription does not include this content. Please call 877-433-5056 to upgrade your subscription.
Thursday Pulpit: Lent is a time for reflecting as we prepare for Easter
Thursday Pulpit: Lent is a time for reflecting as we prepare for Easter For the last couple of months now, my partner Julie, and I have been doing a brief bit of yoga in the morning and another one at night. Most of what we do functions to wake up our bodies in the morning, getting the blood flowing and the aches out, so we can meet the day.
Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments
Abstract Early flowering plants are thought to have been woody species restricted to warm habitats1,2,3. This lineage has since radiated into almost every climate, with manifold growth forms4. As angiosperms spread and climate changed, they evolved mechanisms to cope with episodic freezing.
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