When we accept Jesus, we become a light for God. Our lives change because of Jesus. When we listen to God, we are kinder to others and we show them how much God loves them. In this way, we are a light. It’s kind of like we’re all walking around with candles.
Flame: Light of the World Lantern
July 12, 2022 by
Lanterns and lamps appear in many Bible stories and they’re so easy to make, but I’ve always been disappointed that it’s difficult to put a light in a lantern without risking the whole thing going up in flames.
Formations 11.28.2021: Yet More Truth and Light
November 21, 2021 by
In 1620, John Robinson preached to a band of English Separatists who were about to embark upon the Mayflower to start a new life in North America.
Connections 04.11.2021: Walk in the Light
April 4, 2021 by
When my daughter Samantha was in fifth grade, I accompanied her on a school field trip to Dahlonega, Georgia. One of the activities was touring the Consolidated Gold Mine.
See the Light
February 9, 2021 by
Leo Tolstoy once compared religious rules to the light given off by a lamp post. It is a bright light. It dispels the darkness. As long as man or woman stood in that light, he or she could see. But the lamp post had limitations, Tolstoy said.
Crossroads: The Light Has Come
January 4, 2021 by
“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” “You’re almost there!” “Blue skies are coming.” We use a lot of phrases to talk about how the light is coming.
Connections 01.03.21: Light in the Darkness
December 27, 2020 by
This week’s lesson falls on the second Sunday of Christmas. That is also the Sunday before the Epiphany, which occurs on January 6. Both Christmas and Epiphany are about God’s revealing God’s self to the world in Jesus Christ.
Light and Scent
September 15, 2020 by
As my pastor mounted the steps to the pulpit to preach about Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume (Jn 12:1-8), he paused to light several sticks of incense.
Connections 07.05.2020: Yokes
June 28, 2020 by
Merriam-Webster offers several definitions of “yoke.” First, a yoke is “a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (such as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together.”
Connections 02.09.2020: Light in the Darkness
February 2, 2020 by
Most contemporary biblical scholars believe that Isaiah 56–66 contain the words of a prophet who preached in the tradition of the eighth-century prophet Isaiah of Jerusalem to the Jewish people after their return from exile in Babylon.
Formations 09.08.2019: A Light in the Darkness
September 1, 2019 by
I have consciously been on my faith journey since I was about ten years old. Before that, as far back as I remember, my religious upbringing consisted of church three times a week and prayers before meals and bedtime.
Formations 12.9.2018: From the Wasteland
December 2, 2018 by
For this second Sunday of Advent, I’ll admit that part of my preference for this season is religious cover for my Scrooge-like demeanor. It persists most of the year, but November and December throw it into particular relief. Needless to say, this year I’ve surprised myself and have willfully listened to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
Formations 01.07.2018: The Suffering Servant
December 31, 2017 by
Lately I’ve been reading about Bartolomé de las Casas. A sixteenth-century Dominican friar, Las Casas is best remembered for his protests against the dominant forms of Spanish colonial and evangelical activity—the wars of the conquest and the encomienda system.
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.
Formations 12.03.2017: The Lights of Christmas
November 26, 2017 by
One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the lights. We deck our houses with tiny electric lights. We drape lights on Christmas trees. We go to services on Christmas Eve where the light of dozens of handheld candles bathes the sanctuary in a warm, amber glow.
Connections 03.26.2017: Living in the Light
March 19, 2017 by
We usually think of light as a positive thing. When darkness falls at my house, I take comfort in the glow of soothing lamps. Both of my girls have small lights in their rooms that stay on overnight. If I’m driving on a dark rural road, I always feel better when I approach city lights once again.
Formations 03.19.2017: Light and Dark
March 12, 2017 by
I have a friend who cites learning to use the conjunction and more than or as the high point of his education. Conjunctions reflect the way we make sense of information. They allow us to show cause, to distinguish, to divide, to connect.
Connections 01.22.2017: The Speed of Light
January 15, 2017 by
Light travels at 186 thousand miles per second. That means it travels about six trillion miles in a year, so that’s the distance in a light year. The sun is “only” about 0.000016 of a light year (93 million miles) from Earth; its light reaches us in about eight minutes twenty seconds.
Praying in the Shadow of Death
March 9, 2016 by
The Internet has been good for us in many ways. But, I feel that a warning should be issued at this point….If you begin to experience any of these symptoms, please stop using the Internet and consult a real person in real life.
Lost But Not Alone
March 1, 2016 by
My three-year-old is starting to understand and verbalize more about God than he ever has before, and it’s encouraging and overwhelming all at once. The other night after prayers were said and stories were told, there was a period of silence.
Formations 11.29.2015: Only Light
November 22, 2015 by
On November 12, a crowded marketplace in the Bourg al-Baragneh neighborhood in Beirut was bombed, leaving hundreds dead and injured in the worst attack Beirut has seen in years.
Formations 11.30.2014: Helping the Blind to See
November 23, 2014 by
How do people see? As we look at things, a stream of light reaches our eyes and falls onto special cells on the retina called photoreceptors. This visual information translated into a kind of code that only the brain can read.
Uniform 08.17.2014: The Strength within the Clay
August 10, 2014 by
Many people serve God each day. Some share Jesus quietly, living with kindness and compassion as they go about their daily business at work, school, and other places in the community. Some share Jesus physically, pounding nails into the wood of a home for the poor, spooning food onto a plate at a homeless shelter, or mentoring an at-risk student.