We lose so many good people. When Jesus finally arrives at his friends’ home, Lazarus has been dead for four days.
Formations 08.07.2022: Hold My Communion Wine
July 31, 2022 by
You’ve heard and seen the jokes. Someone does something outrageous, dangerous, or stupid. Then someone else says “Hold my beer.”
Getting It All Together
May 18, 2022 by
Jesus’ boat lands on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee—no longer in Jewish territory. This is like landing in Cuba. Along the edge of the lake, tombs are cut into the mountain. The village graveyard is this land’s version of a mental institution.
Worship: Communion
September 3, 2019 by
The most intimate and meaningful family times I can remember are around a table. Whether it is just the immediate family or a larger gathering such as a family reunion, there is something very special about gathering for a meal.
Connections 08.19.2018: Really Real
August 12, 2018 by
I can still see the beloved pastor of my growing up years standing behind the communion table, speaking words meant to prepare us for the Lord’s Supper. They went something like this: “Now we know that the bread isn’t really the body of Jesus.”
Jesus Would Not Have Denied Me Communion
February 15, 2018 by
My husband Paul and I have been married for more than 47 years! We are as alike as jelly and jam and as different as whole wheat and rye. He grew up in the northern United States; I grew up in the South. He’s Catholic and I’m Baptist; for the most part that distinction has never been an issue.
Connections 08.21.2016: Places in our Hearts
August 14, 2016 by
Robert Benton’s 1984 film Places in the Heart takes place in 1935 Waxahachie, Texas. Royce and Edna Spalding own a cotton farm. Royce is also the local sheriff.
Connections 07.17.2016: “Can I Get in Line?”
July 10, 2016 by
Andrew, my five-year-old nephew, is a great source of joy in our family. Born at 29 weeks, weighing about 2.5 pounds, he lived in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital for 65 days before my brother Dusty and his wife Christy were able to bring him home.
Cookies for Communion
April 12, 2016 by
The best gift I have ever been given was a half-eaten, double stuffed Oreo cookie with all the double stuffing licked out. The giver was a four-year-old Guatemalan girl named Marisa.
Connections 02.07.2016: Passover
January 31, 2016 by
The story of the institution of Passover is about the present, the future, and the past. The narrative opens with “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt . . .” (v. 1). God then proceeds to give them instructions for the Passover observance.
A View from the Pew: An Hour a Week
February 25, 2014 by
I am not a dreamer. That’s not to say I lack ambition or that I don’t hope for certain positive life outcomes. No, I mean, literally, I don’t have dreams; at least I don’t remember dreams.