What’s the most powerful sermon you can remember? I remember one in particular. I was still in high school and had slept over at a friend’s house on New Year’s Eve.
Connections 04.03.2022: Knowing Christ
March 27, 2022 by
One of the questions evangelists and ministers often ask is, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” I heard this question numerous times as a young child.
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
January 24, 2022 by
Talk about a time in your life when you had to work as a team with others. Talk about what your role was and how each person had a different role. What were you trying to accomplish?
Connections 10.17.2021: Christ’s Submission
October 10, 2021 by
The word “submission” has negative connotations in American English. We tend to envision something like slavery, where one person is oppressed and controlled by a person in power.
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
August 9, 2021 by
When I was a teenager, we often performed a skit in my youth group called “The Body of Christ.” We would all say, “We are the body of Christ, the body of Christ, the body of Christ.”
Formations 01.17.2021: A Christ of Cosmic Proportions
January 10, 2021 by
There is a Latin aphorism from the earliest centuries of the church that has always resonated with me: lex orandi, lex credendi, “the rule of prayer is the rule of belief.” In a nutshell, this aphorism says that there is a deep connection between liturgy and faith.
Formations 12.20.2020: The Honor Christ Deserves
December 13, 2020 by
My wife and I got married over my school’s Thanksgiving break one year. I was a newly minted Ph.D., with little as of yet to show for it. We arrived at the hotel before our room was ready, so we gave them our luggage and went out to explore the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Flame: Advent Wreath Craft
December 2, 2020 by
We’ve now entered Advent and I was thinking of how families could use the tradition of the Advent wreath at home in a craft and prayer activity. Of course it’s great to have the real candles to light, but here’s an alternative to make and do.
The Reality of the Living Christ
May 27, 2020 by
1 Corinthians 15:20-26 What difference does Christ’s resurrection make? Does it matter whether it really happened? Would people all over the world still believe Jesus’ teachings about life and faith if it didn’t? Would they still follow his example? Think about Jesus’ early followers in the aftermath of his death. They are disheartened to the […]
Connections 04.19.2020: The Empowering Christ
April 12, 2020 by
Today’s passage contains one of my favorite images in the New Testament. It’s not the appearance of the risen Christ. It’s not him breathing the Holy Spirit upon his disciples.
Connections 04.12.2020: The Risen Christ
April 5, 2020 by
I listen to a podcast called “Gone.” In each episode, hosts Richard and Molly discuss something or someone that went missing and has never been found. One of the podcast’s taglines is, “Just because something is gone, [it] doesn’t mean it can’t be found.”
Connections 11.25.2018: Because Christ Reigns
November 18, 2018 by
As you probably know, we had an election back on November 6. As of this writing, they’re still counting votes here in Georgia and in several other states. As the process stretches on, one can detect a touch of holiday rancor in the air.
Crossroads: The Body of Christ
July 30, 2018 by
God has given each of us different gifts. Some are called to preach, others to teach, others to make snacks for Vacation Bible School, still others to fix the air conditioner when it breaks.
Formations 12.31.2017: Christ(mas) Has Come!
December 24, 2017 by
On the Christian calendar—as opposed to the secular calendar by which stores began decking their halls shortly after Halloween—the Christmas season began on December 25th and will end twelve days later on January 5.
Connections 12.17.2017: The Light of Christ
December 10, 2017 by
At this time of year, we marvel at the beauty of Christmas lights. Our family enjoys getting a special treat and riding through our town, admiring neighborhood light displays while we listen to Christmas music. We love to decorate our own house as well.
Connections 05.07.2017: Suffering with Christ
April 30, 2017 by
Friends, I’m not sure that suffering is ever God’s will. Does God let humans suffer the consequences of our choices? Yes. Does God let humans suffer the calamities (natural disasters, criminal activities, sickness, poverty) that befall us in a broken world? Yes. Does God actually make it happen? I don’t know.
Connections 04.09.2017: The Hymn of Christ
April 2, 2017 by
Some commentators say that these verses from Philippians describe Jesus and his mission in the form of a hymn. If so, it is a magnificent and beautiful hymn that encapsulates everything Jesus is and all he came to do. We are supposed to strive for a mind like Christ’s (v. 5).
Crossroads: The Christ Candle
December 26, 2016 by
Merry Christmas! In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we have explored what each group was waiting for. Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus and, as we celebrate, we remember that Jesus waited for just the right time to enter the world.
Formations 12.25.2016: God Is Born and Don’t Own a Car
December 18, 2016 by
This week, after a month and some change of waiting, Christ comes. Luke introduces us to the one who brings hope, love, peace, and joy, the one we’ve come to call God, as an infant lying in a feeding trough.
Connections 10.16.2016: Suffering. Praying. And…
October 9, 2016 by
A parishioner had liver cancer. One day, as we sat talking in his den, he told me that he had recently attended a service conducted by an evangelist who claimed to be able to heal the sick.
10.02.2016: Thank God for Jesus
September 25, 2016 by
I think I’d believe in God even if Jesus hadn’t come. I seem to assume that God exists. That assumption appears to be a vital part of who I am, but I can’t tell if it’s the product of nature or nurture.
Formations 09.25.2016: Hope in Christ’s Appearing
September 18, 2016 by
In the religious circles I tend to run in, there are a lot of people who grew up in churches that were saturated with the teachings purported experts on end-times prophecy. They grew up with that kind of theology, but somewhere along the way, that theology got, well, left behind.
Connections 03.27.2016: The First to Know
March 20, 2016 by
When I was seventeen, my church put on an Easter play that one of our members wrote, paraphrasing directly from various Scripture accounts of Jesus’ last week, his death, and his resurrection.
Formations 03.20.2016: Justice, Mercy, and the Crucifixion
March 13, 2016 by
It wasn’t until I found myself reading a book about mercy and hoping for a person to be punished that I realized I’ve been way too comfortable with the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Crossroads: The Christ Candle
December 25, 2015 by
Light the three purple candles, the pink candle, and the white candle in the center. Say: “Today we light the white candle, the Christ candle, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Crossroads: The Bethlehem Candle or Candle of Love
December 7, 2015 by
Mary and Joseph waited for a miracle to happen for nine months. They knew that Jesus, the Son of God, would change their whole lives. And so they waited with anticipation for Jesus’ birth.
Formations 12.13.2015: Freedom to Hope
December 6, 2015 by
Zechariah’s song leads us through the second week of Advent in celebration and hope. But in this Scripture text, Zechariah’s song is almost as important as his months of silence leading up to it.
Uniform 11.29.2015: Teaching God’s Word
November 22, 2015 by
When Paul’s missionary partners Timothy and Silas arrived in Corinth, they found him “occupied with the word” (v. 5; NRSV supplies “proclaiming,” which is not in the Greek text). What was he doing with the word with which he was occupied?
Satellite or Star
October 28, 2015 by
My eyes drew open a little after 4:30 this morning. The alarm wasn’t supposed to go off for another hour and a half, but I was awake. Though I knew I could go back to sleep, I also knew that I probably would wake up feeling more groggy than I did at that moment.
Uniform 03.29.2015: Whom Do We Celebrate?
March 22, 2015 by
A couple of weeks ago, cities all over the nation celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with parades. People wore varying shades of green, and some dressed like leprechauns. Four-leaf clovers were everywhere.
Formations 03.08.2015: “The LORD Has Anointed Me”
March 1, 2015 by
“Messiah” comes from a Hebrew word meaning, “anointed one.” We get the word “Christ” from a Greek word with the same meaning. To say that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah is therefore to say that he is the Anointed One.
Crossroads: The Christ Candle
December 25, 2014 by
Christmas Day has finally come! Christ is born! Today, we light the Christ Candle in the center of our Advent wreath. All the candles glow today. The world is bright and warm.