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Jul 2019
For nearly three years, I’ve been leading a Tuesday morning Bible study attended by residents and staff of our men’s homeless shelter. We have been using a resource titled, Disciples Path: The Journey. Our latest session covered the concept of how the kingdom of God is both, “now” and “not yet.” What that means is, even though sin has corrupted the relationship between God and humanity, through repentance and reconciliation offered by the cross of Jesus Christ, we can experience the kingdom of God in the present life as well as look......
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July 07, 2019
Be An Andrew!
Andrew is a bit of mysterious figure, unfortunately often lost in the shadow of his larger-than-life brother. We know something about him from the New Testament (all of which is true) and something about him...
June 23, 2019
Are You Morphing Into a Pharisee?
In this week’s sermon, I told the story of a young adult I recently met named Abby who, after learning I was a minister, shared rather candidly, about the judgmental treatment she received when she...
June 10, 2019
The ‘Greatest’ Doubter Who Ever Lived?
John the Baptist is clearly among the most remarkable people who have ever lived. He was Jesus’ forerunner, preparing the sinners to repent and receive their Messiah. John’s portrait of John the Baptist is quite...
June 02, 2019
The Word Became Flesh and ‘Tabernacled’ Among Us
John likes symbolism, as even a surface reading of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ will readily show. But John’s Gospel has its allusions and symbols too. One of these we find in...
May 26, 2019
A New Creation, A New Garden
“In the beginning was the Word,” is the sublime opening sentence of John’s Gospel. Like the beautiful, yet anxious, faint opening notes of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, they can barely hold themselves back from the glorious...
May 19, 2019
A Bigger Jesus: Introducing the Gospel of John
Last month (April 27, 2019) my wife Mary and I – along with our grandchildren Jacob and Bella – witnessed the most significant event to occur in Somerset Massachusetts in the last hundred years: the...
May 13, 2019
Shooting Arrows: Spiritual Parenting in a Soulish Age
I recently happened upon an article written by Bria Sledge, a project assistant at the North Carolina State University Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences. The article asks why the role of a parent is so...
April 08, 2019
Considering Jesus, Our Passover Lamb
Our blogs usually focus upon issues of practical discipleship: ‘How can I more effectively follow Jesus?’ But, as we approach Holy Week – Palm Sunday is just days away – I’d like us to turn...
March 25, 2019
The Shoe Factory
There’s an illustration I heard many years ago. I’m sorry, but I don’t know who wrote it. It tells the story of shoe factory and it goes something like this … Imagine that there’s a...