What are the “Ballasts” on the Gospel that keep us from hearing the gospel today?
January 1, 2025
Category: Uncategorized
Preaching This Sunday
December 31, 2024
This Sunday (January 5), I will be preaching at Pioneer Church in Rock Hill, SC. The pastor gave me a free hand, and the Lord has led me to a text in Matthew 4. After praying and reading the text for several days, I decided to check my files to see if I had ever … More Preaching This Sunday
Fishing Pools and Fishing Trips in the New Year
December 31, 2024
Fishing pools, fishing trips, or fish catching or, mixing metaphors, fields, fruit, and harvest: are all different things. 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will … More Fishing Pools and Fishing Trips in the New Year
Good Poets are More Thinkers than Exhibitionists
December 30, 2024
I’m putting this link here less for my readers and more for myself. I want to read it again and again. I know that I, like many others, have periodic delusions that I can write poetry, mostly drivel, but once in a blue moon, something genuinely good. This article brings me down to earth and … More Good Poets are More Thinkers than Exhibitionists
There are Stories that Make Me Weep.
December 29, 2024
We are driving down the road together. The “we,” being my bride, who is driving, and me, the one who can no longer drive at night because my eyes don’t function without the brightness of day. We are listening to National Public Radio. People are telling stories for an audience that laughs and “oohs” and … More There are Stories that Make Me Weep.
Without Cause
December 27, 2024
Have you ever been falsely accused of something? Silly question. All of us have at one time or another. Sometimes it was minor. Sometimes it was life-altering. Always, it was painful. Even the Savior of the world was falsely accused which puts us in good company. King David wrote about his own “valley of the … More Without Cause
Christmas: What does Christ mean to you?
December 25, 2024
Yesterday evening, I attended a Christmas service that included a wonderful message and an impromptu children’s reenactment of the Christmas story. Just before the message, the pastor gave the microphone to anyone in the congregation who wanted to answer the question, “What does Christ mean to you?” “Here’s the catch,” he said, “you have to … More Christmas: What does Christ mean to you?
A Christmas Poem of J.R.R. Tolkien
December 24, 2024
This poem was written in 1936, published and then largely forgotten until it was rediscovered 2013. In September of this year (2024), it was republished in a collection of poems of J.R.R. Tolkien as poem number 148 with the title, “Noel.” (Advice: If you can, read the poem aloud, do it. Poetry is written to … More A Christmas Poem of J.R.R. Tolkien
Six “Prophecies” That Didn’t Happen
December 23, 2024
This came to me in a ministry newsletter some years ago. It was titled “Six Ideas That Didn’t Come True.” I think it goes back to the year 2000. “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” –Charles H. Duell, 1888, DIrector of the U.S. Patent Office “There is no likelihood man can ever tap … More Six “Prophecies” That Didn’t Happen
Our Problem in Making a Difference for Christ
December 22, 2024
Indisputable 21st Century Facts: Relationships in our neighborhoods with our neighbors are characterized by three things, They are not natural They are not normal They are not necessary The first two items are a product of the third. Because our relationships with our neighbors are not necessary to our lives or our neighbors, almost all … More Our Problem in Making a Difference for Christ
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