Author: Pastor Nick
Forty-seven years of ordained ministry, beginning for twelve years as a Jesuit priest, thirty-two as a United Methodist Pastor.
“Boasting Covers Wounds”
With the eye of discernment and not of judgment, see if you can read the heart and soul of the people that you meet, asking the Lord to give you a sense of the pain that they may be going through, wit... Read More
“How Is the Vitality of Your Faith?”
For St. Luke, the featured evangelist in Kingdomtide this year, the number one concern of God is for the poor. Using Bible Gateway as a resource, go to Luke 1, advance chapter by chapter, selecting ... Read More
“Waiting for More Faith?”
God is waiting for us to become a firmer ground and a living faith that becomes the message for those who run by, feeling the ground of your faith. No matter how deep the darkness within you, there re... Read More
Blessed Are the Meek
Over the years, in fact over the centuries, we’ve created a sense that God is one reality and we’re another. In truth it’s all one– It’s all God. That’s why the Beatitude ... Read More
The Source of Joy
There is a source to our emotional life that’s deeper than just an emotion. It’s an inward feeling and a deep sense of something basic. That’s the way it is with joy. We touch the source... Read More
“Compassion and Solidarity”
New universal solidarity must supersede all the old group solidarity. The power of Satan is the power of domination and oppression, the power of God is the power of service and freedom. Te... Read More
“Jesus: the Original”
Sermon: August 24, 2025... Read More
Only One Love
Aramaic rendition of the Lord’s Prayer by Neil Douglas-Klotz in “Prayers of the Cosmos” Free sample of Kindle version https://a.co/dEM57CA O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, Foc... Read More
Creating Space for Listening
If you seek God with prior expectations, you might get what you expect, but you’ll know nothing of God— because God always hides in the dark of our knowing. But if you seek God without any ide... Read More
“A Neighbor’s a Neighbor”
The message of “A Neighbor’s a Neighbor” is that we need to show compassion and help others, especially those in need, just as the Good Samaritan helped the injured traveler. Lisa le... Read More
“The Rearview Mirror”
Jesus kept his eyes fixed upon Jerusalem knowing what would happen to him. He didn’t look in the “rear view mirror,” distracted by what it would be like, not be so focused on love. So it is ... Read More
The Airport and the Sanctuary
Joyous return to worship after Pastor Nick’s surgery on his spine. The sermon title occurred to him during the many quiet times in recovery. The similarity of an airport and a sanctuary–te... Read More
“The New and Final Commandment”
Since the Gospels are all post Resurrection narratives, it’s important to know that they are seen in the light of the Eternal expanse of God’s grace and love. We live in the light of all t... Read More
“Mothers and the Good Shepherd”
A beautiful blend of mysteries: our Mothers and the Good Shepherd: Unconditional Love…Never ending compassion… Tenderness... Read More
Love Beyond Fear
Experts say that the sense that most evokes memory is the sense of smell. Only two times in the New Testament is the word for “charcoal” used. One is to describe the order of the fire on the beach... Read More
Spiraling Light
Merry-Go-Rounds are circles. Sometimes, that’s the way we see life–going around in circles. Actually it’s spirals that we are experiencing– ever widening arcs of light and love. In thi... Read More
The Future of Joy
Belief in the Resurrection comes as a pure and simple gift from God. The joy we experience is far different from the world’s experience of happiness. Inner Joy is the flower that blossoms forth from... Read More
Jesus’s Entry into the Heart
We explore the ways in which the eternal quality of Palm Sunday affects us all. Reference is made through the writings of Walter Brueggemann in his book “The Prophetic Imagination” which helps us ... Read More
Prodigal Divinity
Here is perhaps the most powerful of Jesus’s parables: the Prodigal Son–so familiar, yet so much urging us to go deeper as we spread silence between the verses. We pause and experience Selah t... Read More
“Twins in the Womb”
You’ll find a thought-provoking parable, “Twins in the Womb.” I recited two poems based on the spiritual thoughts of Meister Eckhart. Here is a link to a sample of the book on Kindle: “... Read More