So, January 1st is fast approaching, as well as the end of 2022 and the dawning of 2023!  As in most years lately, almost everyone I know is eager to see the hind end of 2022 and welcome in all the hope and promises of a nominal "new year".  In 2021, of course, the year got a bullet in the head pretty quickly as, on the 6th of January, the world ( Read more... )

My message for this coming Sunday is about how God works with us through our uncomfortable moments, because growth and increased spiritual maturity are often on the other side of it.

One phrase that I couldn't work into the message, though, was something that I've often heard in a military context - "Embrace the suck!"  There are lots of things ( Read more... )

A couple of days ago, Shimon Peres died.  He was the last "founding father" of the modern state of Israel, at the age of 93 - many of the others had been older to start with and died many years ago, but he was only 25 when the state was established in 1948.  Over the past 68 years, he has been privy to many high-level decisions, a good portion of ( Read more... )

This Sunday, August 17th, I preached a message that was completely different than the notes I had originally composed!  This is what I preached instead (the Knox version)...

( Read more... )

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, who was my preaching and homiletics professor at Knox College lo these many years ago, always said, "Preach from your overflow."  In other words, put everything that comes to your mind into a mental "milk pail" and let them sit for a little while, and then preach from the items that continue to rise to the top ( Read more... )