Clik here to view.
Connections 10.08.2017: Paul’s Credentials…and Humility
Philippians 3:4b-14 Paul’s writings can be a tough read. Like many theologians, whether someone relatively close to Paul’s era like Tertullian or someone more recent like Eugene Peterson, he seems to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 10.15.2017: Joy on Tuesday
Philippians 4:1-9 We’d pack into the Children’s Department Assembly Room like sardines in a can and, if it was summertime, our skin would be about as slick. The girls wore their best dresses and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 10.22.2017: Steadfastness of Hope
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Hope. To me, it’s one of the most beautiful words in the English language. Its French, Spanish, and Italian forms are beautiful too: esperer, esperanza, speranza. Hope means...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 10.29.2017: Sharing Ourselves
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Shon Hopwood is from a small town in Nebraska. He is also a convicted felon who served eleven years in a federal penitentiary for bank robbery. He was arrested in July 1998 after...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 11.05.2017: Standing on Dry Ground
Joshua 3:7-17 I love the Bible’s epic stories: creation, the fall, the flood, the tower of Babel, the crossings of the sea, the march around Jericho, Daniel in the lion’s den, and others. These...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 11.12.2017: Give It Some Thought
Joshua 24:1, 14-21, 24 The story in this week’s Scripture passage reminds me of a part of the John the Baptist story. It’s the scene where “many Pharisees and Sadducees” come to John to be baptized....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 11.19.2017: Deborah, a Good Leader
Judges 4:1-10 Bible stories about female leaders are rare. And I’ve been in churches whose ministers have attempted to explain away female leadership with excuses like these: “When God can’t find a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 11.26.2017: Past, Future, and Present
Ephesians 1:15-23 I have a longstanding affection for time travel stories. I think it goes back to the television show The Time Tunnel (1966-67). Its tales of two scientists lost in time and popping...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 12.03.2017: Wake Up!
Mark 13:24-37 In the Gospels, I identify much more with the disciples than with the people who are in awe of Jesus, scared of him, or threatened by him. The disciples, like me, are comfortable with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 12.10.2017: What Would John the Baptist Say?
Mark 1:1-8 The other morning I got out of bed before my wife did. When she came into the den a few minutes later, she found me eating my oatmeal and watching the CBS Morning News. The first thing she...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 12.17.2017: The Light of Christ
John 1:1-9, 19-28 At this time of year, we marvel at the beauty of Christmas lights. Our family enjoys getting a special treat and riding through our town, admiring neighborhood light displays while...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 12.24.2017: When the Lord Is With You
Luke 1:26-38 If you ever hear an angel say, “The Lord is with you,” how should you respond? Let me suggest, “Uh oh!” In Mary’s case, the angel’s statement “The Lord is with you” meant “The Lord has a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 12.31.2017: Jesus and the Elderly
Luke 2:22, 25-40 I turned forty this year, and I’m grateful to be able to say that I still have one living set of grandparents. My father’s parents, known to me as Mom and Pop, are age eighty-three...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 01.07.2018: God’s Words, Our Words
Genesis 1:1-8; 2:1-4a The first words God speaks in the first words of the Bible are creative ones: “Let there be light.” “And,” the narrator reports, “there was light.” God speaks. Something happens....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 01.14.2018: Samuel and Eli
1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19–4:1a Sometimes we picture ancient stories in black and white. They are old, removed, and distant. And even when the characters are vivid and exciting, they are almost superhuman to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 01.21.2018: A Second Time
Jonah 3:1-10 Mr. James Boggs died a few weeks ago. He was my Little League Baseball coach. He taught me many lessons; one in particular has stayed with me through the almost half-century that has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 01.28.2018: Who Is a Prophet?
Deuteronomy 18:15-22 This passage makes me roll my eyes a little. The writer, speaking for God, says that the Lord will provide a new prophet like Moses who can speak to the people on God’s behalf,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 02.04.18: A Community of Service and Sacrifice
1 Corinthians 9:16-27 I spent twenty-two of the thirty-one years of my career serving as a pastor. I did so for seven years, then took a six-year break to teach in a college, and then returned to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 02.11.2018: The Clay Treasure
2 Corinthians 4:1-12 These days, as I watch my daughters continue to grow and mature in so many ways, I find their creations from early childhood more and more precious. The first face Natalie drew at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connections 02.18.2018: Making His Paths Crooked
Mark 1:1-15 I have a thirty-minute drive from Yatesville to Macon every morning and a thirty-minute drive from Macon to Yatesville every afternoon. My route takes me through the countryside, so it’s a...
View Article
