A Time for Healing

August 25, 2019
So, eighteen years is a long time, bent over, suffering, for eighteen years. Then there’s Jesus. Maybe she always went to synagogue on Sabbath. Maybe she was there that Sabbath…

Can We Just Skip That Part?

August 18, 2019
Fire? Division, not peace? Hypocrites? Why does Jesus have to say such things? I mean, I suppose I could just skip all those things he says like what we just…
I pastored a church in Illinois, right out of seminary. A fellow pastor in that presbytery served two congregations. Those of you who remember Rev. Swinney remember that sort of…

Christ Is Our Real Life

August 4, 2019
A number of people, including some who ought to know better, seem to behave as if this life was all that mattered. Jesus tells us of a world to come.…

A Way That Seems Right

July 28, 2019
Christians have a talent for reshaping the Gospel.  Paul warns against this.  The reshaping is always the result of good intentions.  Christians worry about the growth of the Church, which…

The Gravity of Grace

July 21, 2019
Millions want to know God.  Knowing God isn’t easy.  There is so much around us and within to distract us, deflect us.  That desire is still there, though.  What is…
Some of you may know Lou Reed’s song “Perfect Day.”  At one point in the song, he repeats, four times—as if it’s a part of the song he wants us…

Holy Demolition

June 23, 2019
Tornadoes, hurricanes, fires—our lives can be turned upside down, so quickly, so completely.  The news cameras are almost always there, after, on the scene, filming people carefully picking their way…

The Ground of Love

June 16, 2019
We don’t tend to get all excited about a doctrine of the Church.  Just to use the word doctrine sort of begins to kill the joy of the Living Word,…