Church Life
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Making Time for Bible Reading and Study
Right off the bat, let me say: this article is not being written to shame you if you struggle with Bible reading or time for personal Bible study! A whole lot of people have wonderful intentions, but simply do not make the time to read through the Bible or to study some intriguing section of Scripture in depth. That said, let me offer just a few ways you can get started. If the time excuse is what keeps you from doing this, here are some things you might want to try or keep in mind. It Doesn’t Take a Lot of Time Each Day. I think this is what keeps most…
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Making Sure New is Better
It was one of the ancient scholars who said, “Nothing is permanent, except change.” Things in life are going to change. You cannot stop change. You age. You go through different periods of life, and you cannot return to the past. I look at another year coming and going – there have been changes in family and friendships because of the losing and the gaining of people. There is also the development of different traditions and experiences. William Arthur Ward said, “Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.” How we respond to inevitable change is really the difference…
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A Body — Not a Machine!
Those who know me would probably testify to the fact that one of my favorite descriptions of the church is that of a body. I love to spend time reading, thinking about, and speaking on the verses in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 (and elsewhere) which speak directly to that description. There are so many good, helpful, and challenging implications and instructions in those passages. Events over the last year have caused me to consider and appreciate this description even more than has ever been the case. For almost four decades, my “professional identity” was that of a full-time located gospel preacher. I began my adult life as a high school…
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Is Gratitude a Thing of the Past?
A stranger held the door open for me as I was entering the restaurant and he was leaving. I responded with a heartfelt “thank you.” When Jim opens the car door for me and sees that I am safely inside (which he almost always does), I try to always thank him for that kindness. When I receive a gift from someone, I thank them verbally for that gift, and sometimes send a thank you note. When I am asked to speak at a Ladies’ Day at a congregation, I usually begin my talk with a thank you for the invitation and the hard work that went into making the day possible.…
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Forgiven, Forgiving, & Free: The Peace of Living Without a Past – A Partial Review
After a break from teaching and a foray into teaching younger children during Bible class, I am back to teaching our Wednesday night ladies’ class for a time. On my surprise visit to a day of Polishing the Pulpit this fall, I was excited to see some of my favorite people: Dan and Diane Winkler. I was also excited to purchase Dan’s new book about forgiveness. If you are like most people, the idea of forgiveness is something we all want but may struggle to give. I was enthralled with reading about this topic from someone who has so publicly been called upon to grapple with and demonstrate the Christian…
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It’s Okay to Cry on Christmas
Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. While there is a lot of stress associated with Christmas–with all the shopping and outings–it is a time of the year I always enjoy, especially while we still have children at home young enough to be totally into Christmas. For some, though, Christmas isn’t easy. They may enjoy the day, and get to see family, and take part in all sorts of traditions, but, at some point during the day, they may shed tears. And I’m writing today’s article to say that it’s quite okay to cry on Christmas. To me, Christmas is all about memories. We make memories each year,…
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Don’t Just Call Him “Jesus”
I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine who was very closely associated with a man of South American descent whose name was “Jesus” (hay- SOOS). Those of us who are English-speaking have a hard time understanding why anyone would name their child Jesus, because for us there is only one Jesus, and he is the Son of God. We would say that only one individual has the right to be given that name (Matt. 1:21). But in other cultures, names and the origins of names have different pronunciations and meanings. The original Hebrew equivalent to Jesus is Yeshua, which is closely associated with Joshua, and the…
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Fountains and Drains
On the day that I am typing these words, I heard a man use an interesting expression as he was interviewed on a radio program. I found out as I listened to the man who used it that it is, as he said, one of those “old sayings.” I suppose that I need to do more reading, listening, and/or something because it was the first time I’d heard it. I am quite sure that it will not be the last time I think about it. The man, who is a coach of an athletic team I don’t even follow, was talking about how some people are fountains and how others are…
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Time to Prepare
Jim and I were privileged to attend an annual holiday dinner for those over 65 years of age where our son preaches. We enjoyed the visit with those people so much. The food was delicious and the talent show that followed the dinner was so much fun. One of their older members led the prayer before dinner and I appreciated all that he said in that prayer, but one statement really caused me to begin to think. He thanked God that He has given us time to prepare for eternity. I’ve spent some time pondering on that and I began to wonder if I fully realize that whatever time I spend here…
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5 Lessons I’ve Learned from Surveying the Old Testament
About 2 years ago, the class I teach on Sunday mornings at 9th Avenue started a major project. We began a survey of the entire Bible. The key word is “survey.” We are not going verse-by-verse. I prefer to say we are going “chunk-by-chunk,” as we are trying to simply see the big picture of Scripture and the major movements of each book. Last Sunday, we completed the Old Testament, as we surveyed the book of Malachi. I am really proud of the students who have been there for these two years. I know I have struggled to teach some of the portions of the Old Testament, but I have…
