How are you feeling? I really dislike that question, especially when my therapist asks it. I learned pretty quickly in therapy that an acceptable answer is not, “good” or “I’m fine.” Good is not a feeling, he tells me. A better question is what are you feeling, can you name the emotion? “No! I can’t,” I sometimes stubbornly respond. But most of the time I just say, “I don’t know.”

How does an I Love Lucy scene about dough and yeast relate to a parable of Jesus in which a woman hides yeast in three measures of flour?  The Greek word suggests encryption. What is going on here? In this sermon, Pr. Mueller describes yeast as the ferment that brings about the kingdom of God. Learn some very surprising things about this simple parable.

Scripture readings like this one are understandably difficult for many of us to talk about. We know how quickly conversations about readings like this can become conversations about good people versus bad people, the righteous versus the sinners. Historically, Christianity has used the language of evil to divide, condemn, and justify harm.

This past week I was in a bit of a funk because inspiration for this sermon was not coming. So, I decided to walk to the lake. Nature can provide inspiration and can be one of our best spiritual guides.