Oct 22

“The Weight of Knowing”

Reflections on 1 Samuel 3 and Hebrews 10

As we reflect on last week’s scripture, (1 Samuel 3) we are invited into a hard truth: “grace is not a loophole. It is a gift—and gifts can be refused.”

Thinking back to our Sunday School days, this story is told as a little boy running back and forth to Eli.  We think that it is a great for kids, but I am not a kid.  But UCC Theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann sees 1 Samuel 3 not just as a call story, but as a theological pivot: the moment when God’s word reenters a community that had grown numb to it. He writes that “the word of the Lord was rare” not because God was silent, but because the leadership had grown deaf—Eli’s failure to restrain his sons was symptomatic of a broader spiritual malaise.

Tragically, Eli’s sons knew the rituals but not the reverence. Just as the people addressed in Hebrews10:26-31, knew the gospel but not its gravity. In both stories, the failure wasn’t ignorance—it was willful neglect. And the consequences were not just personal—they were communal.

The Word of the Lord is not a take it or leave it option.  The vengeance of God is a real thing.  We like the quote in Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”  Here it is talking about our compassion in the face of injustice.  But in Hebrews 10:30, it is talking about how God will judge his people.  For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Eli and his sons experienced the justice of God for their abuse of their spiritual office and responsibilities.  But the application is not just for them, it is also for us, if we ignore the Word of the Lord and the responsibilities that the call of grace has upon us.

Let us reflect on this warning, may we ask not just what we believe, but how we live it. May we listen like Samuel, speak truth like prophets, and lead with integrity like Christ.

“Where have I been silent when God was speaking?”

Pastor Greg

Oct 09

You Don’t Apply to be a Prophet

1 Sam 3:1-14

In the opening of 1 Samuel, God is doing a new thing.  Until this time the people of Israel were led by judges.  Men and Women that could discern God’s will in a specific situation that usually provided deliverance from the enemies.  The judges spoke condemnation to the enemies of Israel.  Samuel is called the last Judge because Saul becomes King, but Samuel has a new position in Israel.  He is a prophet, one who speaks the word or message from God.

The prophet speaks to the people, rebukes the people, comforts the people, and even tells the people the plan of God for now and the future.  In our text this week, Samuel is a young person that receives his first message from God.  It is a hard message because it is judgment on the house of Eli the High Priest.  But the message of God is often a hard message. 

God does not ask us to sign-up to be a prophet, and God really doesn’t give us a choice in it.  We are all called to the prophetic ministry.  The call to justice, the plight of the poor, the abuse of children and the weak are prophetic calls.  As well as the message of comfort and hope.  The prophet ministry does not mean the we are mean to those we disagree with, but as Samuel, we have to be faithful to the message God gives us. 

Isaiah gives us the culmination of the prophetic message (Isaiah 40:1-2):

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

The things that make for peace is the ultimate call of the prophet.  Are we instruments of God’s peace.  Matthew 5:9; “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Pastor Greg

Oct 02

Pushing Against a Door Marked “Pull”

He fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why are you working so hard against Me?”  Saul answered, “Who are You, Lord?” He said, “I am Jesus, the One Whom you are working against. You hurt yourself by trying to hurt Me.” (Acts 9:4-5 New Life Version)

Have you ever found yourself straining against a door, only to realize—too late—it was marked “pull”?  There’s a moment of awkwardness, maybe a sheepish glance around, and then a quiet correction.  But it’s also a moment rich with spiritual metaphor.

Sometimes in life, we push hard in the wrong direction.  We strive, plan, and persist—only to find resistance, confusion, or exhaustion.  We may be pushing against grief, change, or even God’s invitation to let go. Like Saul on the road to Damascus, we hear the divine voice: “Why are you working so hard against Me?” (Acts 9:4–6).  It’s not condemnation—it’s compassion.  A call to pause, listen, and reorient.

Faith isn’t always about effort.  Sometimes it’s about surrender.  Pulling open the door marked grace.  Trusting that what feels like a closed path might actually be an invitation to receive, not achieve.

In our worship, our conversations, and our pub theology gatherings, we’re learning to notice the signs. To ask: Am I pushing where God is inviting me to pull? Am I striving when I could be receiving? Am I resisting transformation when I could be stepping into it?

Let’s reflect on the blockades of life and maybe God trying to bring grace to us, if we only do it his way.  May we be gentle with ourselves and one another. May we laugh at our missteps, reflect on our patterns, and open the doors that lead to deeper trust, wider welcome, and unexpected grace.

Pastor Greg

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 (ESV)

Sep 17

Climbing the Ladder: A Call to Aim Higher

“If You Aim for Nothing—You Will Hit It Every Time.”

In Genesis 28, Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending—this vision that is a profound metaphor for human potential.  This ladder isn’t just divine architecture; it’s a symbol of the vertical axis of meaning, a path each of us can choose to climb.

We are being urged to recognize that life is structured hierarchically—not just socially, but morally and psychologically.  To aim higher is to voluntarily shoulder responsibility, confront chaos, and strive toward what is most meaningful.  Jacob, alone and exiled, receives this vision not in comfort but in crisis.  It’s a reminder: revelation often comes when we’re most vulnerable.

To climb your own ladder is to organize your values, confront your shadow, and act as though your life matters—because it does.  Every step upward is a choice to become more integrated, more courageous, more whole.

Jacob names the place Bethel—the house of God. Peterson would say: when you aim upward, even the ordinary becomes sacred.  So, ask yourself—what rung are you standing on? And what’s stopping you from reaching the next?

The ladder is there. The ascent is yours.

Aim for the highest!

Pastor Greg