Category: Uncategorized
-
An Encouraging Word
“And a voice came from heaven, ’You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.’”–Luke 3:22b The Scripture verse above comes from the day of Jesus’ baptism. Luke’s account of that moment omits some key details. He doesn’t tell us, for instance, that John the Baptist was the officiant or that it… Read more
-
The Cost of Freedom
“For freedom Christ has set us free.” –Galatians 5:1a “Freedom isn’t free. Freedom isn’t free. You’ve got to pay a price. You’ve got to sacrifice for your liberty.” One day in 6th Grade, my class sang those words as part of a school assembly. I don’t remember the theme of that program, but do recall… Read more
-
In Need of Translation
“And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.” –Acts 1:6 During my seminary years, I once had some free time between the end of a semester and the start of a summer job. So before leaving New Jersey for West Virginia… Read more
-
The Central Thing
“But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless?” –Genesis 15:2a One day a few years ago, Lori and I were riding the PATH train from Manhattan to New Jersey. One stop before our exit a young woman seated on the opposite side of the car stood up and… Read more
-
More Important Than Getting Wet
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” –Psalm 119:105 I have a friend from my college days named Elliott who served for a time as a mission co-worker in Port Edward, South Africa. He was an economics major as was I and his work after college was in… Read more
-
The Blessing of Community
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”–Matthew 18:20 One of the blessings of this blog for me has been its reach over the four months since launching. Counted among subscribers and others who see a post through social media are family members and individuals from each… Read more
-
The Power of Hymns
“When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”–Mark 14:26 One Sunday morning, early in my pastoral career, while leading worship I became aware of a commotion in the sanctuary. Looking to my left, I saw that an older woman in the congregation named Frances Wright had slumped over. I… Read more
-
A Fearless Faith
“So with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” –Luke 3:18 One day during my North Carolina pastorate, our Clerk of Session invited me to accompany him to a golf tournament called the Masters. It’s held each April in Augusta, Georgia. I had ridden by the course many times as a… Read more
-
Signs and Wonders
“Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus …talking with each other about all these things that had happened.” –Luke 24:13-14 A year or so ago, I stopped by a gas station on my way to the church. While I had been to that station many times before,… Read more
-
Words of Healing
“Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”–James 5:16 Late in my junior year of college, a group of friends and I were planning our strategy for dorm assignments. Seniors in those days had first dibs in the room lottery. It wasn’t unusual for juniors… Read more