“Stand Firm in…Liberty”
I Thank My God I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me…Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. (Philippians…
Our Memorial Days
Monday is Memorial Day, a time that our nation has set aside to commemorate those military personnel who died in the performance of their duties. That concept of memorial is one that is worth deeper consideration. The ability to remember is a wonderful gift that God has given to us. Over the years, I have talked often about this at funeral services —memorial services— that I have officiated. But God is also aware of the fact that, sometimes, we forget.…
What Do I Do?
A few weeks ago, we began a new adult class on Wednesday evenings where we are studying Christian ethics; more specifically, we are thinking through how we make decisions when we are faced with difficult moral dilemmas. This should be practical for all of us, not only as we grapple with controversial ethical issues that our contemporary culture is struggling with, but also just on a day-to-day basis as we all strive to choose to do God’s will. This past…
The New Normal
This week the CDC announced that there is no longer a need for masks or social distancing in most cases for those who are 2 weeks past completing their course of vaccination. Closer to home, the Primetimers had an outing together for the first time in over a year. At the end of the month, we are honoring the graduating Seniors with activities that include a congregational meal. And our attendance in our Sunday morning assembly is steadily growing closer…
A Hard Day
Today is Mother’s Day. The holiday was first organized by Anna Jarvis, who held a memorial for her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where she had been a Sunday School teacher, in 1907. An official worship service was observed in the same place the following year, accompanied by a larger ceremony in the store of Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker. By the year after that, it was being celebrated in New York City. Jarvis then launched…
Let’s Get to Work!
On the first day of the last week of his life, Jesus made his “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem. He was greeted by crowds of people shouting Hosanna to the son of David— “God, save!” —and waving palm branches, welcoming him like a king. That did not sit well with the Jewish elites, who questioned his authority in series of confrontations. At one point in this clash, Jesus told them a story: A man had two sons. And he went to…
The Cholera and the Christian Religion
In the summer of 1873, cholera struck the city of Nashville. From a population of 25,865, about 1,000 people died—4% of the city, in other words. David Lipscomb lived about 10 miles outside of town, yet he remained in Nasvhille throughout the epidemic to tend to the sick and the dying. He was disturbed, however, that a number of his fellow Christians fled rather than staying to minister to the needy. In response, he wrote an article in the July…
O You of Little Faith
The most pressing matter in the news this week is obviously the Coronavirus. Searching the term in Google returns a number of articles, and there are constant updates. As I type this, I see a warning that cash could be spreading the virus; the King County, Washington government, dealing with the worst outbreak in the US, have bought a quarantine motel; and that one official in a news conference promoted common sense measures to check the spread of the disease…
Just Desserts
Walking through Wal-Mart earlier this week, I noted all of the King Cakes on display. Originally, these were baked in celebration of Epiphany, the commemoration of the Magi visiting the baby Jesus, observed on January 6th (if you have ever wondered about the origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas, they run until the Eve of Epiphany on January 5th). Over time, they became associated with the entire Pre-Lenten season, known variously as Shrovetide, Carnival, or, most prominently in this…
The Lord Looks on the Heart
We just celebrated Valentine’s Day a couple of days ago, and last night was our annual Valentine’s Banquet here. The way the story is usually told, the holiday traces its origins to a Roman priest who was imprisoned during an outbreak of persecution under the Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century. He ran afoul of the law for performing clandestine weddings for Christians in the army who were forbidden to marry and was consequently sentenced to death. While awaiting…
Don’t Let Your Politics Trump Your Christian Principles
Here is another excellent article from Wes McAdams’ blog “Radically Christian.” I shared this on Facebook this week, but I know that not everyone has an opportunity to see that, so I am reprinting it here. Especially in light of recent national events, I believe this is a timely reminder for those on both sides of the aisle. BP During the political season, some of us seem to say and do things unbecoming of Christians. I suppose it has always been…
Josephus on John the Baptist
From time to time, I think it is beneficial to compare what we find in Scripture to historical sources outside the New Testament. Since we talked about John the Baptist in our sermon last week, it might be interesting to note what the Jewish historian Josephus has to say about him. About this time Aretas, the king of Petra, and Herod the Tetrarch had a quarrel on account of the following. Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas…