Church Blog (Page 3)

As many of you know, I am on vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains this week. I am writing this around sunrise on Friday morning from the back porch of our cabin, perched on the crest of a mountain, as I look at the first rays of light peak over the mountains beyond and me and then pierce the valley below. I cannot help but think of what the Psalmist says: The heaven declare the glory of God, and the…

In light of Father’s Day being celebrated this Sunday, I thought it might be beneficial to publish this excellent post from Wes McAdams on a passage that a lot of people seem to struggle with. When we interpret it rightly, I think there is great insight for all parents and other influential figures in a child’s life here. This is part of a whole series of posts reexamining well known Scriptures; I encourage you to check it out along with…

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his…

I have noticed the very meme talked about below making the rounds on social media over the last week or so; multiple friends have shared it and I have responded to them to try to correct any misunderstandings. I had contemplated writing about it in this space when, lo and behold, I found Friday morning before the bulletin was printed that Jack Wilkie decided to write about the very same thing that day. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel,…

For most of my life it’s been rare to meet someone who is a bigger sports fan than me. As a kid, I played what must have been thousands of hours of hockey and joined in basketball, football, and baseball games every chance I got. Once I outgrew the competing phase of my life, the consuming phase took up an even bigger portion of my time. I’m one of those guys who could recount decades of Super Bowl, World Series,…

After services this morning, we will gather to honor our graduates. We are just days away from what is technically called “commencement.” Why commencement? After all, “to commence” is to begin, to start—and graduation is an ending, isn’t it? The word does come from a Latin word meaning “beginning.” That is because, in medieval times—when academics actually wore that ridiculous cap and robe we all have forced upon us now—you did not finish at the university and go out into…

I am supposed to be preaching in Woodville this Sunday. If you are reading this in the printed bulletin on Sunday morning, then we know whether or not I made it there; as I write this early on a Friday morning, the rising waters have put it very much in doubt. But it got me to thinking about a song we sing as children about “The Wise Man”: The rains came down/and the floods came up. Of course, that song…

Someone asked me a few days ago, “why is it that Easter does not always fall on the Passover?” After all, we know Jesus was crucified on the week of Passover—it would make sense if the annual observance of his resurrection, which occurred three days later, was celebrated at the same time. Without going too far down the historical rabbit hole, the short answer is that after a couple of centuries of increasing distance between early Christianity and Judaism, there…

The deadline to file your income tax return—or, if you prefer to put it off as long as possible, your extension—passed this week. Some of us might have received a refund (of the interest-free loan we made to the government over the past year); others might be smarting from having to write a check. In either case, no one is really fond of paying taxes. It is remarkable, then, that the most noteworthy fact about the apostle Matthew, the author…

Last week in this space, we laid out a theology of giving. Of course, giving is a broader topic than just the offering we take up every Lord’s Day. But the weekly contribution in particular is one of the most neglected aspects our assemblies—it makes us all rather uncomfortable to talk about. That is unfortunate, because it is extremely significant. The earliest Christians were characterized by their readiness to give. And when we study it deeply, we find there are…

Consider this article on where the resurrection of the dead fits into the gospel from Wes McAdams’ blog “Radically Christian.” As always, I recommend you go check out the entire site. -BP When modern Christians teach people the Gospel, we typically begin by trying to convince them they have a problem about which they are blissfully unaware. We try to teach them that their biggest problem is, “God is angry with you and will soon punish you forever.” In reality,…

Our Easter Egg Hunt for children occurring immediately after the worship assembly caused me to think about celebrating religious holidays more generally. Today is Palm Sunday, the day where many religious groups commemorate the Triumphal Entry; indeed, our sermon will be on that theme, too. This begins what is known as “Holy Week” leading up to Easter. Easter is the oldest of all religious holidays celebrated by Christians. The earliest Christians did not practice an annual observance of the resurrection;…