We see here in the story of Pentecost one of the great threads that runs throughout the Bible, namely, the element of surprise! All through the Scriptures, we see God surprising people: appearing in a burning bush, rolling back the waters of the Red Sea,...
After briefly flirting with church attendance, one TV sitcom character chalks up his experience as generally beneficial because “I finally learned what that guy in the end zone holding up the big card that says ‘John 3:16’ on it is...
It is remarkable to note in the Bible how little time Jesus spent talking with people about their past. He was more interested in their future. When the woman taken in adultery was brought to him, he did not explore the circumstances that had pushed her to...
I grew up loving and worshiping Christ before I knew to follow him. Worship was like breathing and I a natural believer. This is not true for all. My home and church offered me the grace of believing and I eagerly drank. Since those young days of believing,...
Henri Nouwen, one of the most influential writers on prayer and the spiritual life in this generation, once said that when we let God’s love “speak within us, we are led into places where we often would rather not go.” That is exactly...
Luke tells the story of the Road to Emmaus. It is a travel story. Two people walking down the road to Emmaus. We don’t know who they are. We do know that they are not among the 12 disciples. We assume that they are some of the followers, those people...
I want to begin today with a powerful sentence from Ernest Hemingway – who had a way with powerful sentences: “Life breaks us all and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
Iona Henry was happily married to her husband, Peter. They had two beautiful children: Jane, 14, and Jack, 10. The family was actively involved in the community and in their church. Life to them was like a song at summer’s dawn. Then young Jane is...
I recently heard an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation speak about the challenge presented by the level of crime in our cities. Our newspapers routinely report on violent crimes, hate crimes and crimes of passion which impact every part of our...
A certain man was driving home from work one day in rush hour traffic when suddenly his car began to choke and sputter, and then the engine just died. Fortunately, the man was able to coast into a service station. He tried his engine again. It wouldn’t...
As we enter the season of Lent, people of Christian faith all over the world begin the relentless journey to the cross. On the edge of his ordeal, Jesus takes his closest friends, his inner circle, his cronies, the guys with whom he went fishing –...
A modern theologian has pointed out that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference. The writer contends that hate, as terrible as it is, at least acknowledges that its antagonist is a person, while indifference turns its neighbor into a thing.
When I decided to respond positively to the call of God to invest my life’s energy in pastoral ministry, I made preparations to enter The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. On the day before I was to leave for my continuing study,...
If it is not the most popular game at church, it certainly is near the top. It is called “Let’s You and Him Fight.” The rules are simple. Practically every church has a member who is strong-willed and outspoken. This member usually has an assertive...
I remember a certain young man who came with his fiancée to be married in our church. One question I ask couples in premarital counseling is, “How did you know, as you were growing up, that you were loved and cared for by your parents? How...
As I, along with you, watched the many bowl games in recent weeks, I was interested with how many commercial appeals confronted us during that time. Advertising is one of our modern societies most visible aspects.
