As I prepared for my sermon, “A Place for Reconciliation,” from Matthew 18:15-20, one hymn was constantly on my mind. The hymn was written by Joseph Swain (1761-1796)…

Philippians 1:27 Above all, you must live (politeuomai) as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ…

Luke loves to tell his story by using contrasting pairs. Acts 4-5, as we saw in my last blog, contained such a pairing. Barnabas’ generosity stands in contrast to the greed and dishonesty of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. I will now look at another pairing about wealth and possessions…

Acts 5: 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”... 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?” (NIV)

This coming Thursday, June 6, will be the 80th anniversary of D-Day. As the number of those who were alive and able to recall D-Day grows fewer, it is well that we do all we can to rekindle the memory of this crucial day…

As I write, it’s Memorial Day. On Sunday night, as we often do, we watched the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS…

Do you see something unusual in the opening of the parable we call, “The Rich Man and Lazarus?” It’s not just unusual, it’s unique. This is the only parable we have from Jesus where someone is named…

Oliver Wendell Holmes is credited with originally saying, “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” Since then, it has been repeated thousands of times against some Christians or as a slander against all…

I grew up hearing that I was a descendant of Texas pioneers and a “true Texan.” My heritage in the Church of Christ movement went back to the early 1800’s…

The aftermath of the falling of our beautiful, massive Blue Spruce reinforced ideas I already held through faith. The first was one that we had often experienced—good things can come from experiencing bad things…

(The following is both a continuation of last week’s blog, and a Biblical reflection prompted by Earth Day.)There is a view of life that says, as in the beloved gospel song, that this world is not my home…

While we were living in Southern California, on January 17, 1994, we were awakened at 4:30 A.M. to the largest “natural disaster” we had ever experienced. It was a devastating earthquake centered in Northridge, California…

Our language gives us away, perhaps more than we would care to think. The terrible winds of this past weekend will be considered by insurance companies and many others as an act of God…

Easter has a supremely cosmic significance that is utterly profound. I will refer to two passages that reflect this. Here’s the first:..

As we move toward our remembrance of the Passion of the Messiah and the glorious celebration of His resurrection, I want to look at what drove some who wished Jesus dead and gone…