At Meridian we receive numerous press releases and insider news pieces that we often don’t report just for time and space on the magazine. We are going to publish a weekly update or roundup of some of these news items and will publish it on Thursdays. These will be short
Prayer and God’s Will By Stephen Rankin I recently wrote about the problem of too much subjectivism in prayer. Many of us, myself included, sometimes have strong impressions when we pray. They come with a misleading sense of urgency about their rightness, of their having come from the Lord. Sometimes,
“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You
In this episode of the Sermon Notes Podcast, Jay Strother and Brian Ball begin a Holy Week journey through Mark 11, focusing on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the deeper meaning behind Palm Sunday. Their conversation highlights the tension of the moment: the crowds shout Hosanna, but many misunderstand
Six Reasons Pastors Must Be More Courageous Today Though there have certainly been more difficult times in the course of church history for pastors, leading a church today is much tougher than it was 20 and 30 years ago. There have been some demographic and cultural shifts that reflect this
Mary Ward, that great Christian educator of the 17th century, used to tell her sisters: “Do your best and God will help.” The notion that God can and will help us in our predicaments is axiomatic to Biblical faith. It sets the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God
Maurine Hello, we’re Scot and Maurine Proctor and this is Meridian Magazine’s “Come Follow Me” podcast, where today we celebrate Easter. We remember well those events and carry their magnificent hope with us. One night Scot and I were trying to photograph an olive tree on the Mount of Olives,
Practicing Sabbath By Tammie Grimm It can be startling to discover that for all the spiritual practices or means of grace we can name, none are listed in the Ten Commandments. Prayer, which is considered to be primary by many people of faith isn’t mentioned once. Neither is the necessity