Acts 7:55-60 | Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 | 1 Peter 2:2-10 | John 14:1-14

Jeremy Richards

One of my favorite places is Arches National Park in eastern Utah. I’ve been there countless times.

If you were to fall asleep on the car ride to Arches, and wake up when you got there, you’d think you were on another planet. The scenery is other-worldly. Unreal rock formations rise up off the desert floor. The rocks and the sand are this stunning red. The most prominent rock formations are, as the name of the park suggests, arches (there are over 2,000 in the park), but there’s also balancing rock and devil’s garden and countless other unique rock features that wind, water, and time have shaped over the years.

Acts 2:42-47 | Psalm 23 | 1 Peter 2:19-25 | John 10:1-10

Jeremy Richards

“And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

That sounds good, right? That’s what every church wants: growth. Growth means more people in the seats, which means more money coming in, which means the church can hire new pastors and music leaders. It means that the church will feel and look like a success, like they’re doing things right.

Acts 2:14a, 36-41 | Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 | 1 Peter 1:17-23 | Luke 24:13-35

Jeremy Richards

There’s something about traveling with someone and the conversations that ensue. Whether it’s a road trip, or a hike, or just a walk around the block. We live in a day and age where there are constant distractions everywhere, but there’s something about travel that cuts those distractions out and prompts conversation. You can’t watch TV or check Facebook (at least you shouldn’t!) when you’re on a hike, and definitely not while you’re driving. Even in a car, where there are radio channels and podcasts to listen to, you can only go so long on a road trip before you need a break and start talking with whoever your with. One of the best ways to get to know new friends (and occasionally end old friendships) is to go on a road trip.

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 | Psalm 16 | 1 Peter 1:3-9 | John 20:19-31

Jeremy Richards

We’ve entered a new season in the church calendar. We’ve left the 40 days of Lent behind us, and we’ve entered the season of Easter. We’re now in the second Sunday. For those of us who didn’t grow up in churches that followed the liturgical calendar, this may seem odd. Easter is a day, not a season. Easter already happened.

Jeremiah 31:1-6 | Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 | Colossians 3:1-4 | John 20:1-18

Jeremy Richards

Today is a day characterized by bright colors. Colorful flowers, pastel shirts and dresses, and bright Easter eggs are all staples of Easter morning...But today didn’t start our bright and sunny, at least not according to John. It started out in darkness. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb…”

Isaiah 50:4-9a | Psalm 31:9-16 | Philippians 2:5-11 | Matthew 27:11-54

Jeremy Richards

How did I get here? This question from the Talking Heads is an important one. Many a book and movie finds its premise in this question. Many stories begin with a protagonist in an unexpected place, not knowing how they got there, and the point of the story is to uncover their journey. Because they don’t know who they are if they don’t know how they got there.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 | Psalm 130 | Romans 8:6-11 | John 11:1-45

Jeremy Richards

How many of you have ever done an internship?

Usually internship are somehow related to our education. The way it usually goes is we take a class on theory and then we put that theory into practice through our internship. A common example of this is student teaching, right? I wasn’t an education major, but my dad was a teacher and I had friends in college who were education majors. The students quite literally become the teachers in student teaching. They take 3 years of classes, and then they’re put in front of a classroom full of elementary or middle school or high school students, under varying degrees of supervision depending on the teacher who they’re working under, and expected to, well, teach!

1 Samuel 6:1-13 | Psalm 23 | Ephesians 5:8-14 | John 9:1-41

Jeremy Richards

Well, I’m about to try to illuminate this text from John for you. I’m hoping, by the grace of God, to help us “see” it better. But this puts me in a tricky spot, because our Scripture ends with this statement by Jesus: “If you were blind you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Maybe I should just play it safe, say I don’t know what this story’s about, and we can all go home free from sin!

Exodus 17:1-7 | Psalm 95 | Romans 5:1-11 | John 4:5-42

Jeremy Richards

After being here nearly 6 months, I finally decided it’s time to really move into my office – to make it my own. So we went where everyone does to find decorations: Ikea. We thought about what we needed to make the space beautiful. Of course, I needed pictures, and we got a small little throw to go over one of the cabinets, but we need something else – something alive. We needed plants.

Genesis 12:1-4a | Psalm 121 | Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 | John 3:1-17

Jeremy Richards

Sarai is 65 years old – 65 – when God calls her and her husband Abram to leave their home in Haran. They’ve built a life there. They buried their father, Terah (yes, Abram and Sarai had the same father), there. He’s got a nice plot in the church cemetery. Maybe Abram, Sarai, and Lot have all bought their plots next to Terah’s. Surely they’ve planned to stay there. 75 and 65 might not be that old in the book of Genesis, but they aren’t necessarily spring chickens.