Maybe you’ve seen the cartoon where a monk, in the basement of a library, is leaning over a book, sobbing,. An old priest walks in, “What’s wrong? What’s the matter?” “It doesn’t say celibate. It says celebrate. We’ve misread it all these years.” Easter morning, 1525 (eight years after nailing the 95 theses to the church […]
Remember Peter’s words, “Lord I believe, but help my unbelief”? Isn’t that why we are here this morning? Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief? It’s the stuff of life, the battle of belief/unbelief. It rages in our hearts and minds till our last breath. Sometimes we just don’t feel like God is present. Sometimes […]
Right on the tail of the “blessed are’s,” (you know — the poor, the meek, the mourners) comes this passage in Matthew. So who is Jesus talking about? I know the kind of people I call salty and luminescent, but does Jesus have the same definition that I have? To figure out just who these […]
A Baptist pastor was starting his ministry in a tiny town. His goal was that every person in that town be baptized. Walking down main street, he came across a homeless man. “Do you know Jesus?” The man answered, “No.” “Do you want to be baptized?” The man said, “Okay. I’m not sure what that […]
So, who is this Baby King, Jesus, who came into this world to save us? The baby whom God breathed into Mary’s womb, the One whose coming we prepared for, waited for throughout Advent? The One whose birth we celebrated on Christmas Eve? Today we hear of His baptism. As John brings Him up out […]
January 1, 2017. I don’t know about you, but the first month or so, I can’t guarantee I’ll get the right year. Anyone make any New Year’s resolutions last night? I’ve given up. Every year it’s the same story: next day, tail between my legs. The resolutions of yesterday are the guilt trips of today. […]
I remember when our fourth son was born. We quickly arrived at the hospital without having picked out a name! Deb said, “if it’s another boy, what do we name him?” I said “Mark.” I had had a good friend from high school days named Mark, and I liked the name. So a very quick […]
As Max Plank accepted the Nobel Prize in physics, he said, “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you from my research, this much — there is no matter, as such. All matter originates, and exists, only by virtue […]
Every night on my way home I drive past a billboard with a countdown of the days left before Christmas. For some, it’s a reminder that cards need to be mailed, baking needs to be done, and presents need to be wrapped. For others, it’s a reminder of what was — but won’t be ever […]
Picture this: a tree gets chopped down to a stump, and a little shoot starts growing out of it. What a strange image for the coming Messiah. Most people view a little shoot growing out of a stump as an unwanted eyesore. They’re named suckers. The internet has all kinds of remedies — how to […]