The Rev. Candy Snively discusses Ephesians 2:11-22 and the dividing walls of “hostility between us.”

The Rev. Candy Snively shares a personal story about a remarkable act of love: “Laying down our lives isn’t so much about dying for someone else as it is living for someone else, putting their needs ahead of our own as an act of love. And that kind of act of love is the basis for a little story I’d like to tell you about.” (Today’s Gospel reading: John 10:11-18)

The Rev. Candy Snively discusses Mark 1:21-28: “Jesus has everything to do with us. He stands before us as the mirror image of who we can become. He calls us into our true self, the one made in the image and likeness of God.”

Today’s gospel reading has been resonating around in my head for several weeks. Peter stepping out of the boat to walk to Jesus is probably one of the best known stories. You all have probably heard it preached many times over the years. So my dilemma was to find a new way of presenting it. (Matthew 14:22-33)

The Rev. Candy Snively discusses Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30: “We can easily buy into thinking that productivity reigns, that the measure of our lives will be how we have worked hard and made a good living.”

You can learn a lot about people from their prayers. We each have our own way of communicating with God. Some are mumbled and stuttered and perhaps hesitant, while others are offered with confidence. (John 17:1-11)

The Rev. Candy Snively discusses John 20:19-31: “No matter where you are or who you are with, Christ stands among his people, among us, saying ‘Peace, be with you,’ breathing life into what looks lifeless. Regardless of the circumstances, Jesus shows up bringing peace.”

On the First Sunday of Lent, the Rev. Candy Snively discusses Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-11.

The Rev. Candy Snively considers 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and “what happens when the wisdom of the world is challenged by the wisdom of God.”

The Rev. Candy Snively discusses Isaiah 2:1-5 and the beginning of Advent: “Maybe we’ve depended a little too much on God transforming our spears and swords while we’re still swinging them, instead of laying them down long enough to make a few plowshares. But Advent is a time to repair what is broken, to heal what is hurt. It is the time to remember the work we need to do on our lives, our spirits, and our hearts.”