-
Get up (or sit down) and eat!
As I am sure is the case with many clergy-type folks, Sunday mornings are incredibly draining for me. When I deliver a sermon, I am not just giving a lecture, or a talk. I am pouring my whole being, my whole spirit, my whole emotional self, often times my whole being into the preaching moment. …
-
Blogging and Ministry
So I’ve been blogging regularly for about a month. While I sought to post everyday, that has not yet happened. This is about the time when I begin wondering if my little blog really matters that much. I began this blog as a space to share some of my reflections and “left over thoughts” that…
-
On Being a Doubter-Sensitive Church
I had a conversation with someone the other day on the sidewalk in front of church. I was picking up some trash that always blows into our bushes from the park across the street. A person stopped and asked me some questions about our church, which I answered. I told him about our Saturday morning…
-
Water From the Rock
It is a privilege to preach every Sunday. It is an opportunity that not everyone has. My community has entrusted me to faithfully exegete and interpret the sacred scriptures. It is truly a humbling privilege and responsibility, and it certainly is not one that I take lightly. However, after preaching almost every week for the…
-
First Words in Worship
Ever since I became a pastor I have put a lot of thought into the first words of the worship service at our church, and I have also begun paying attention to the first words of church services that I attend. There are, to be sure, many important words in a worship service, but the…
-
Ministry is terrific…or is it terrible?
There is someone who would often ask me, “so how was work with God today?” This was of course referring to the fact that I am a pastor and with the assumption that I get the ability to spend every day in some kind of special divine fellowship. This is true insofar as we all,…
-
“Being” as witness to the resurrection
I’ve been meditating and thinking about John’s account of the resurrection, which is the appointed Gospel text for Easter Sunday (John 20:1-18). I find John’s account fascinating, particularly because at first, rather than angels proclaiming that Jesus is not there but is risen, we have an empty tomb, with all of the thoughts, fears, and…
-
The Rev. Lawn Mower
When I was a child, I hated mowing the lawn. I had to add gasoline to the greasy engine, I had to pull start the mower, and pull again, and again. Prime it, pull, pull, pull, finally it would start. I would spend half a day mowing our lawn. It was hot, grass made my…
-
Accepting Jesus as Personal Savior? (Part 2)
In the first part, I discussed exegetically and theologically some of the challenges when talking about “accepting Jesus”. In this second (and much shorter) part and conclusion, I will address the problems with the second part of the statement, referring to Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. The terminology “personal Lord and savior” is…
-
Accepting Jesus as Personal Savior? (Part 1)
I cringe every time I hear someone ask me if I’ve accepted Jesus as my “personal Lord and Savior”, primarily because I don’t know how to answer. I identify as a child of the covenant. I was baptized when I was an infant, and when I was growing up, I responded to the promises that…
Matthew van Maastricht
Shepherd of Souls | Spiritual Director | Psychotherapist
Would you like to receive new posts directly in your email?
Matthew van Maastricht 