Stephen Bond
@impiousgalilean.bsky.social
ELCA pastor in northwestern Ohio;
Trying to love well—convinced that Jesus of Nazareth makes that possible
Trying to love well—convinced that Jesus of Nazareth makes that possible
Good morning to the grey sky behind the branches waiting for snow to fall here in this part of the world that God loves…
November 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Good morning to the grey sky behind the branches waiting for snow to fall here in this part of the world that God loves…
Black Friday
a poem for November 28, 2025
a poem for November 28, 2025
November 28, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Black Friday
a poem for November 28, 2025
a poem for November 28, 2025
Good morning to the cactus blossom at the church greeting me with warm color as relief from the cold outside in the world that God loves…
November 28, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Good morning to the cactus blossom at the church greeting me with warm color as relief from the cold outside in the world that God loves…
Jesus' outstretched arms are open for us as well, the same as they were for the one beside Jesus outside Jerusalem on another Friday long ago. There has never been anything we had to do, say, or know to earn our acceptance; it's always been grace.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/with...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/with...
Within Jesus' Reach--November 28, 2025
Within Jesus' Reach--November 28, 2025 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding [Jesus] and saying, “Are you not the Messiah...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Jesus' outstretched arms are open for us as well, the same as they were for the one beside Jesus outside Jerusalem on another Friday long ago. There has never been anything we had to do, say, or know to earn our acceptance; it's always been grace.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/with...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/with...
Jesus' way will always seem subversive--and, yes, the powers of the day might even think it is seditious--precisely because it calls into question every king, kingdom, and regime that operates by "Me and My Group's Interests First" thinking.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/no-b...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/no-b...
No Bulletproof Glass--November 27, 2025
No Bulletproof Glass--November 27, 2025 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals,...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Jesus' way will always seem subversive--and, yes, the powers of the day might even think it is seditious--precisely because it calls into question every king, kingdom, and regime that operates by "Me and My Group's Interests First" thinking.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/no-b...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/no-b...
Good afternoon to the tufts of seeds catching snowflakes in the strong winds that blow through the world that God loves…
November 26, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Good afternoon to the tufts of seeds catching snowflakes in the strong winds that blow through the world that God loves…
Hey friends!
While you are taking out your turkey to thaw or prepping your cranberry sauce, you can listen to this week's new episode of Crazy Faith Talk!
Join us for our concluding conversation in "The Meaning of Mercy"!
open.spotify.com/episode/0Eiw...
While you are taking out your turkey to thaw or prepping your cranberry sauce, you can listen to this week's new episode of Crazy Faith Talk!
Join us for our concluding conversation in "The Meaning of Mercy"!
open.spotify.com/episode/0Eiw...
Episode 459: The Meaning of Mercy, Part Six--Mercy and Forgiveness
open.spotify.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Hey friends!
While you are taking out your turkey to thaw or prepping your cranberry sauce, you can listen to this week's new episode of Crazy Faith Talk!
Join us for our concluding conversation in "The Meaning of Mercy"!
open.spotify.com/episode/0Eiw...
While you are taking out your turkey to thaw or prepping your cranberry sauce, you can listen to this week's new episode of Crazy Faith Talk!
Join us for our concluding conversation in "The Meaning of Mercy"!
open.spotify.com/episode/0Eiw...
Reposted by Stephen Bond
This artwork is a tribute to my departed father and to anyone who has been treated like a black sheep in the Church, in their family, or anywhere they were made to feel unwanted.
November 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
This artwork is a tribute to my departed father and to anyone who has been treated like a black sheep in the Church, in their family, or anywhere they were made to feel unwanted.
God really has put all the chips on the table, as it were, and has risked it all... for all of us. And that is news that will let me put my feet on the floor another day. That is hope enough, even on days when the shadow of death is lurking painfully close.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/noth...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/noth...
Nothing Held Back--November 26, 2025
Nothing Held Back--November 26, 2025 "[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so tha...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
God really has put all the chips on the table, as it were, and has risked it all... for all of us. And that is news that will let me put my feet on the floor another day. That is hope enough, even on days when the shadow of death is lurking painfully close.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/noth...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/noth...
Even the people we think are least lovable, even the ones who we think contribute the least, and even the people who are turned completely away from God are still beloved by God such that God actively wills to sustain them and the world in which they live.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The Music Is Still Playing--November 25, 2025
The Music Is Still Playing--November 25, 2025 "[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all t...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Even the people we think are least lovable, even the ones who we think contribute the least, and even the people who are turned completely away from God are still beloved by God such that God actively wills to sustain them and the world in which they live.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
Good morning to the eastern sky on the way to the church and the day’s doings in the world that God loves…
November 24, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Good morning to the eastern sky on the way to the church and the day’s doings in the world that God loves…
Good evening to the line of clouds hanging over the neighborhood in the west, as the hint of a crescent moon rises over this part of the world that God loves…
November 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Good evening to the line of clouds hanging over the neighborhood in the west, as the hint of a crescent moon rises over this part of the world that God loves…
Good afternoon to the sprouting plant emerging from a crack in the asphalt and catching the light of the sun shining down in the word that God loves…
November 23, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Good afternoon to the sprouting plant emerging from a crack in the asphalt and catching the light of the sun shining down in the word that God loves…
We are used to stories of self-absorbed kings in gaudy gold-plated opulence who boast about their own greatness, and we might assume that Jesus is just one more like them. But Jesus is a different kind of king, and "We don't do that here" in Jesus' kingdom.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/what...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/what...
What Sort of King?--November 24, 2025
What Sort of King?--November 24, 2025 "May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
We are used to stories of self-absorbed kings in gaudy gold-plated opulence who boast about their own greatness, and we might assume that Jesus is just one more like them. But Jesus is a different kind of king, and "We don't do that here" in Jesus' kingdom.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/what...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/what...
Spotted a sparrow in our front yard tree this afternoon.
November 23, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Spotted a sparrow in our front yard tree this afternoon.
Good afternoon to the unexpected periwinkle blossoming in late November to offer its namesake color to a chilly day in the world that God loves…
November 22, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Good afternoon to the unexpected periwinkle blossoming in late November to offer its namesake color to a chilly day in the world that God loves…
Good morning to the branches reaching out to one another like Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” above my head on a new day in the world that God loves…
November 22, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Good morning to the branches reaching out to one another like Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” above my head on a new day in the world that God loves…
The next read caught my attention by its title: “Liturigies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World” by Kat Armas. Looking forward to it…
November 21, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The next read caught my attention by its title: “Liturigies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World” by Kat Armas. Looking forward to it…
Terce, Friday
a poem for November 21, 2025
a poem for November 21, 2025
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Terce, Friday
a poem for November 21, 2025
a poem for November 21, 2025
Good morning to the leaf half submerged and half catching the wind like a sail as it blows across the world that God loves…
November 21, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Good morning to the leaf half submerged and half catching the wind like a sail as it blows across the world that God loves…
For a very long time, conventional wisdom has treated the world as merely a pile of raw materials to be consumed and exploited. We have forgotten creation rejoices over God's goodness. We are not separate from that chorus, or "above" it; we are a part of it.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/we-a...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/we-a...
We Are Not the Only Ones Singing--November 21, 2025
We Are Not the Only Ones Singing--November 21, 2025 "Let the sea roar, and all that fills it, the world and those who dwell therein. Let ...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM
For a very long time, conventional wisdom has treated the world as merely a pile of raw materials to be consumed and exploited. We have forgotten creation rejoices over God's goodness. We are not separate from that chorus, or "above" it; we are a part of it.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/we-a...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/we-a...
Good afternoon to the fiery colors on the leaves still putting on their flashiest displays for the world that God loves…
November 20, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Good afternoon to the fiery colors on the leaves still putting on their flashiest displays for the world that God loves…
And a good Bow Tie Thursday to you today…
November 20, 2025 at 11:01 AM
And a good Bow Tie Thursday to you today…
If we dare to follow the Scriptures' lead and "sing a new song," we will not only be pointed outward to reach out to people we had never thought about before, but we will likely be pulled to join in the work God is doing in the world around us.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/why-...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/why-...
Why We Need New Songs--November 20, 2025
Why We Need New Songs--November 20, 2025 " Sing a new song to the Lord, who has done marvelous things, whose right hand and holy arm have ...
beinggraced.blogspot.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:04 AM
If we dare to follow the Scriptures' lead and "sing a new song," we will not only be pointed outward to reach out to people we had never thought about before, but we will likely be pulled to join in the work God is doing in the world around us.
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/why-...
beinggraced.blogspot.com/2025/11/why-...
Good afternoon to the blossom, still offering whatever beauty and color it can over against the gray of a cold November afternoon, outside the hospital in the world that God loves… 
November 19, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Good afternoon to the blossom, still offering whatever beauty and color it can over against the gray of a cold November afternoon, outside the hospital in the world that God loves…