Merry Christmas! May it be a day of Peace for all! St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through Leviticus Hebrews Thank you for starting this journey! Please Hit Like and Subscribe to stay updated on the latest Bible in a Year conversat…

Advent 3, 2024 There are no “small” roles! When Elizabeth discovers that Mary is pregnant with Jesus, Elizabeth does something amazing (Luke 1:39-55). Instead of feeling threatened that her own pregnancy would be overshadowed, she rejoices and magnifies Mary’s joy. What allows Elizabeth to do the almost divine thing here, to celebrate, free of jeal…

St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through Leviticus, Beginning Philippians Thank you for starting this journey! Please Hit Like and Subscribe to stay updated on the latest Bible in a Year conversations with Pastor Robin and Rob. St. …

St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through Ephesians 1-6 Exodus 16-40 Thank you for starting this journey! Please Hit Like and Subscribe to stay updated on the latest Bible in a Year conversations with Pastor Robin and Rob. St. Andrew…

Advent 2 (Dec 8, 2024) Pastor Rob begins his sermon by admitting that he has an obsession with correctly loading the dishes. It turns out for that task — and for many others — we need information. Mary is given the world’s biggest task, namely, bear the son of God in her womb. Yet, God gives her an incredibly little amount of information. Why is th…

St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through Exodus 1-15 Thank you for starting this journey! Please Hit Like and Subscribe to stay updated on the latest Bible in a Year conversations with Pastor Robin and Rob. St. Andrews Bible in a Ye…

Advent 1 (December 1, 2024) Did you know that Barbie was launched on March 9, 1959? It turns out that the makers of the Barbie movie made the odometer of the car read “030959” in homage to this date. This is one of many “Easter Eggs” in the film; many films have “Easter Eggs”, references to other films or historical events. You likely miss them the…

Christ the King Sunday (Nov 24, 2024) The trial scene of Jesus before Pilate has two witnesses, one testifying to the power of love (Jesus); one testifying to the love of power (Pilate). After reflecting on how we see these two worldviews colliding throughout history, both in secular society but also in the church, Pastor Rob brings it back to our …

St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through Finishing Genesis 37-50 Finishing Galatians 1-6 Thank you for starting this journey! Please Hit Like and Subscribe to stay updated on the latest Bible in a Year conversations with Pastor Robi…

St Andrews Presbyterian is journeying through the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through the the last part of week three and the first part of week four Day 13: Genesis 32-34, Psalm 145, Mark 8 Day 14: Genesis 35-37, Psalm 12, Mark 9 Day 15: Genesis 38-40, Mark 10 Day 16: Genesis…

St Andrews Presbyterian is beginning the journey of Reading the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through the the last part of week one and the first part of week three Day Eight: Genesis 21-23, Psalm 107, Mark 8 Day Nine: Genesis 24-25, Psalm 4, Mark 9 Day Ten: Genesis 26-27, Mark …

November 10, 2024 Jesus praises a poor widow for giving two small coins to the temple treasury. In itself, this is a powerful story of sacrificial giving. What really makes it striking though, is that this very temple is declared to be corrupt by Jesus. Yet Jesus still praises her. When we give as Christians, we do so in a world in which there is c…

St Andrews Presbyterian is beginning the journey of Reading the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through the the last part of week one and the first part of week two Day Four: Genesis 9-11, Mark 4 Day Five: Genesis 12-15, Mark 5 Day Six: Genesis 16-18, Mark 6 Day Seven: Genesis 19-…

St Andrews Presbyterian is beginning the journey of Reading the Bible in a Year using the Bible in a Year 5 Day Reading Plan (Link Below). Pastor Robin and Rob talk through the first part of the readings from week one Day One: Genesis 1-2, Psalm 19, Mark 1 Day Two: Genesis 3-5, Mark 2 Day Three: Genesis 6-8, Psalm 104, Mark 3 Thank you for starting…

All Saints Sunday 2024 (Nov 3) The sunflower on the maintenance road didn’t get the memo — it didn’t belong there and it was too late in the season. Yet it was there, and for the folks walking by, it became a beautiful symbol of God’s faithfulness. In spite of how broken our world is, there remains enough signposts and sacraments, signs of God’s go…

October 20, 2024 Jesus offers us a freedom that at first seems like a strange freedom: The freedom to serve others. We are inclined to think of freedom differently, as the ability to do what we want, when we want to, because we want to. Yet, precisely if we’ve swum in those moral waters, the “do what you want” waters, we realize that freedom is not…

October 13, 2024 “I am the rich Jesus is talking about???” When Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God” many of us as Americans get uncomfortable… Are they for us? Are we the rich Jesus is addressing? Or do the rich refer to the “Scrooge McDuck”s of the world, the …

October 6, 2024 “I believe, help my unbelief!” cries the father who has brought his sick son to Jesus (Mark 9:24). Like all who have long prayed for a suffering family member, the man is brought to the brink. While he sees the strength, conviction and love of Jesus — before his very eyes — he acknowledges the forces against him are ancient, mighty …

September 29, 2024 “What we do in life echoes in eternity” – a stoic philosopher said it first (Marcus Aurelius) but most of us know it through the movie Gladiator. When one hears the Gospel today (Mark 9:38-50), one could argue that Jesus seems to say something similar, as he both promises blessing and warns of condemnation based on our actions. I…

September 22, 2024 Jesus today offers words we like want to soften: He calls his disciples to be last of all and servants of all (Mark 8:30-37). At first, this sounds impossible. The only person who ever was servant of all was Jesus. Yet, Jesus does show us a way forward. Right after calling the disciples to be servant of all, he embraces one child…

September 15, 2024 Peter has committed his life to follow Jesus. Peter is the shining student, confessing Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8:27-38). Then, all of the sudden, Peter is being rebuked by Jesus. What gives? Most Christians do not succumb to blatant worship of idols; but we often lose ourselves, even when pursuing the faith, hope and love. A r…

September 8, 2024 As Jesus is healing a man’s blindness, the man says “I can see people, but they are like trees walking.” (Mark 8:14-26) This prompts Jesus to work more on the man’s eyes. It turns out that Jesus really has to work to heal the man! The story serves as a key to understanding Mark’s Gospel in that Jesus repeatedly has to work on the …

September 1, 2024 Once again, Jesus is criticized by religious leaders for his mealtime practices (portions of Mark 7). Turns out, he is always being criticized for WHO eats with him, WHAT he eats and HOW he eats. It would be easy for us to judge the religious leaders of his day, but turns out, in our world today we have lots of rules, judgement an…

August 25, 2024 A google search on “Sunday Morning” comes up with a lot of images — but almost none of them church (or the Bible)! As we live into this time – a great unchurching of the United States – we hear the question of Jesus to the disciples: “Do you also want to leave?” For many of us, though, we say no, we want to stay in the community of …

August 18, 2024 “Take heed therefore — making the most of your time” St Paul, letter to the Ephesians (Chapter 5:15-16) YOLO — You only live once. This is what is often said now when someone wants to encourage us to pursue adventure and indulge ourselves!! In short, play hard! This is especially true in our post COVID world, one that has realized h…

August 11, 2024 “Be gracious, as God graced you in Jesus Christ” Paul, to the Ephesians. What does grace look like in our lives? (Standing out in the rain listening to Taylor Swift concerts from the city park?) How do we extend grace to others? (Including neighborhood bullies?) A reflection on how God gives us our daily bread, the grace that forgiv…

July 7, 2024 The Presidential debates of this past June were met by many with frustration and anxiety; they felt like one more sign of the dysfunction and malaise hanging over our political world. Pastor Rob reflects on Mark 6 when Jesus sends out his disciples. The world they lived in was a world of brutal political and social realities. Yet Jesus…

June 30, 2024 Sickness is like an iceberg in that we often only see the tip of the situation. The Gospel writer Mark takes us on a deep dive into the emotional undercurrents of illness, exploring what is going on in the hearts of the families of two women who are healed by Jesus (Mark 5:21-43). These stories speak to the reality of our emotions, bu…

Sunday, June 23 "Do you not care that we are perishing?" The disciples cry out to Jesus, who is asleep during the storm. Inevitably, we will go through storms. We will encounter hard times and observe terrible situations in the world. We will wonder where God is in the midst of all of this. Is Jesus sleeping? During these times, we or those whom we…

June 16, 2024 Did you know that a butterfly flapping its wings can change the path, intensity and even existence of a massive storm, like a tornado or hurricane!? “The Butterfly Effect” is the term to describe how in a complex and interconnected system, the smallest change of one variable can lead to a big change in the outcome. As Christians, we’v…

June 9, 2024 Things go wrong for Jesus after his “graduation” – he leaves town, makes friends with the wrong people, gets in trouble with the law and finds religion. When he gets home, its a bit too much for his family who confront him about this. At this point, things get even worse, with him renouncing them (Mark 3:20-35) The end? Because our God…

Holy Trinity 2024 (Also Confirmation!) Decisions, decisions, decisions!! Life is full of decisions; for young people, each decision comes with so many options. Their life feels very much like a “Choose you own adventure” story: What to study, whom to befriend, whom to love, where to live, what teams to try out for… This all sounds exciting, except …

Pentecost 2024 (May 19) Life speed is fast and only gets faster. As life gets faster, making sense of life becomes harder and harder to do. A reflection on where we go to find still waters. (Hint: Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the church!) Also, an admission of what to do when, no matter what, it doesn’t fully make sense!…

Ascension 2024 (May 12) Pastor Rob reminds us of the crafty gifts we gave to our mothers on Mother’s Day (and other such days) using a poem called “Lanyard.” While such gifts are sentimental and cute, they really don’t adequately repay the mother for all that she has done. The disproportional love of parent to a young child is a great illustration …