Read Psalm 23, Proverbs 1, Mark 14:12-26 I was pastoring a great church in Springfield, Ohio. The church had grown explosively. We had just completed a new building and in this building was something I had always dreamed of as a pastor, a sacristy, a small room set aside for the preparation of the communion… Continue Reading
Read Psalm 23, Proverbs 31, John 13:21-38 Many of you know the story of the birth of Branches. It came out of my own failure, the pain that Doris and my family endured because of me, and the healing that Jesus brought to us. Here’s a little anecdote that you may not have heard. Doris… Continue Reading
Read Psalm 23, Proverbs 30, Ezekiel 37:1-14 This might surprise you but there is a bunch of stuff in the Bible that I don’t understand. Symbols and events, timelines and theology, there are just things that don’t make a lot of sense to me. A couple of days ago we read in Proverbs, “Don’t answer… Continue Reading
Read Psalm 23, Proverbs 29, John 12:1-11 Doris was out of town this weekend. She was involved in a women’s retreat and I am so proud of her. But, when she leaves, for some reason, this house just becomes a wreck. I don’t know who messes it up so bad but after a couple of… Continue Reading
Read Psalm 56, Proverbs 27, Isaiah 53:10-12 Next week is Passion Week. We will read Psalm 23, the Proverbs chapter of the day, and pretty much the Passion week story: Monday-John 12:1-11, Tuesday-Ezekiel 37:1-14, Wednesday-John 13:21-38, Thursday-Mark 14:12-26, Friday-John 18-19, Saturday-John 21:1-14 Here are some housekeeping things: Monday is supposed to be our last video.… Continue Reading
You know why I like Amazon? Because it’s easy to get justice. You order something from them. It doesn’t come in just right, wrong size, different color, a little damaged, and you just send the thing back. Voila! Instant justice. They either send you a new thing or refund your money. No harm. No foul.… Continue Reading
Psalm 53, Proverbs 25, Isaiah 53:1-6 Doris, my wife, has an amazing gift of unknowing. She has a birthday coming up in a couple of months. About a week before, she and I will go out shopping. We will walk through endless aisles of hoity-toity dress shops. (I keep saying they have great stuff at… Continue Reading
Psalm 56, Proverbs 24, II Corinthians 1:3-11 Doris asked me last night why I choose the scripture each day that I do. Well, the Proverbs chapter is just the chapter that corresponds with the calendar day. That way we read through the entire book of Proverbs every month. I have done this for years. The… Continue Reading
Psalm 56, Proverbs 23, I Peter 2:21-25 Here’s an interesting story. In 1896, Charles Monroe Sheldon wrote a little book about a small-town church that was challenged when one Sunday an apparent, homeless beggar came walking into the middle of their worship service. The events that unfolded caused that little congregation to ask themselves, “What… Continue Reading
Today read Psalm 56, Proverbs 22, Acts 16:19-28 In case you are wondering, I don’t start these things with some great plan of how they will end. I am very much a “stream of consciousness” kind of writer. When I get to the end of a blog, I am about as surprised as anybody how… Continue Reading