Posts by Pastor Shawn

Posts by Pastor Shawn

Learning to Lent

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. (Joel 2:12-13) In the years before high school, my family and I were what I would call “church hoppers.” We attended somewhat regularly, but for various reasons we would attend one…

The Upside-Down Kingdom

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth…” (Matthew 5:1-5 NIV) Yesterday, I received my first “Happy New Year” card for 2024. My friend who sent the card filled…

Trapped By Fear

People are trapped by their fear of others; those who trust in the Lord are secure. (Proverbs 29:25 CEB) As I commuted to the hospital this morning, the podcast I was listening to got me thinking about fear in the life of a Christian. I can’t deny that the rapid changes in our culture, along with present international conflicts provide ample fuel for fear. I confess there are times when I too fear what the future may bring. However, my…

Our First Desire

25 “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your…

Overflow

It was a privilege to journey with our eighteen students from Spokane First Church to Florida and experience Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC) for a third time. Once again, thank you church for your support in getting our students there. The theme for this NYC was overflow. Building from Romans Chapter 15 verse 13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”…

Holy Listening

Then the Lord came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10, CEB) I admit in my life I have spent a lot of time thinking about the ideas surrounding a person’s calling. And of all the descriptions I’ve found, I love author Parker Palmer as he describes “This is something I can’t not do, for reasons I’m unable to explain to anyone else and don’t fully understand myself…

Our Daily Bread

“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11 & Luke 11:3) In my small group we’ve been working through a series on prayer. Part of the series uses the Lord’s prayer as a guide. Jesus himself used the Lord’s prayer to teach others how to pray. But when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” What does this mean? Is it only about asking God to provide food for our physical needs? I think there is lot…

Radical Hospitality

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9) The bible has a lot to say about hospitality. Through many years of ministry, I am convinced that hospitality can be one of the most effective ways of building community in a church, but also connecting with those who are seekers. Yet, as I write that last sentence, and I reflect on my own household’s practice of hospitality, we could do better. Over the child-rearing years the pace of life…

Shine The Light

You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 CEB) One of…

For Such a Time as This

“And who knows but that you have come to your…position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NIV) Throughout my life, there have been numerous times that Mordecai’s words here to Esther have seemed applicable to my own life. As a quick summary, Esther was elevated to the position of queen, leading with King Xerxes who “ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush” (Esther 1:1). Esther became aware that one of Xerxes’ noblemen named Haman plotted to…

Managing Expectations

7 Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.” 8 With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I…

A New Creation

16 So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) This passage is one of the lectionary readings for this week. Here Paul reminds us that as Christ followers we…