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What kind of images do you associate with spring? Baby chicks and bunnies, decorated eggs, new clothes? What about green grass, budding trees and flowers emerging from the ground? Some anticipate an egg hunt, toys and candy. Others participate in a Sunrise Service and contemplate Jesus crucified yet risen. Hopefully……  ( Click for more )

That’s encouraging. God knows me so thoroughly, anticipating my needs so effectively, that – what? He’ll give me anything and everything I want – immediately? Or is it only my legitimate needs he acquiesces to – no questions asked? So say some, at least by inference, in……  ( Click for more )

Green – the color of Ireland, the emerald isle; fostering the tradition of the wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day. Images of a pugnacious character, with a look of defiant determination on his face and shamrocks abound. Pride in being Irish is expressed in parades and ceremonies all across the country.……  ( Click for more )

For many, Jesus is the nicest person they can imagine. For others, he is for the most part irrelevant. The problem for both sets of people is that they don’t really know him at all. For way too many people today, he has no real substance, existing as a mere shadow of the man who roamed the hills of Galilee……  ( Click for more )

The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once challenged Christians to, “Have the courage to have your witness regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.” (For Biblical examples of just such willingness……  ( Click for more )

Does that get your attention? Many in our world today believe just that, primarily because they try to understand the gospel intellectually before they will allow themselves to believe, while the gospel requires us to believe in order to understand. The message of the cross is indeed foolish to some. “…to……  ( Click for more )

The concept of servanthood, let alone slavery, is largely foreign to people in the developed countries of the world today. Many third-world citizens do, however, still toil under conditions of absolute control by others, while some modern-day laborers wonder if their treatment by corporate CEO’s might qualify……  ( Click for more )

Have you ever wondered how some holidays got their start? All of them intend to be a reminder of something or someone, commemorating the day a significant event occurred or the person who did it. Some are obvious; Christmas, Easter and the 4th of July. Some, however, we view in a light not at first anticipated;……  ( Click for more )

Decades have passed since missionaries Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Nate Saint, Ed McCully and Roger Youderain were killed by Waodoni spearmen in the wilds of Ecuador. (Ironically only ten years after five other young men had been killed in a Bolivian jungle by other antagonistic tribesmen.) But their witness and example……  ( Click for more )

Repeated events involving the real and at times imagined desecration of the Muslim holy book make for big news around the world. Predictably, violent acts erupt among adherents of the Quran in response to these supposed slights. Attempting to explain the shock and anger expressed by those brandishing their holy……  ( Click for more )

Last week we looked at the lives and “ministry” of a number of women involved in Jesus’ life. Luke seems to intentionally write of them more than any other gospel, noting how, as Jesus traveled the countryside with his disciples, women accompanied them and served Jesus, the Twelve and I’m sure……  ( Click for more )

Contrary to poplar opinion, Christianity has raised the profile and status of women around the world. The Jews usually held women in high regard personally, “officially” not so much. A first-century Jewish blessing, offered each morning by Jewish men, began with “Blessed are you, Lord God, Ruler……  ( Click for more )

The importance of counting the cost of discipleship (Lk. 14:25-33) and bearing the cross of faithfulness (Lk. 9:23-26) cannot be overstated. The cultural battles we face today are not only for the soul of our country but of our churches as well, as recrimination and discrimination come more and more from those who……  ( Click for more )

A brand New Year with new opportunities and responsibilities is about to unfold. I hope you will look at this New Year as if it were a blank piece of paper, ready to record your responses to the possibilities for success in 2024. But don’t fill it with New Years’ resolutions and promises you won’t……  ( Click for more )

Don’t you just love this time of year? The family get-togethers, exchanging gifts, playing in the snow and caroling. Even the charitable contributions we make to food and gift drives for the less fortunate warm our hearts as we express genuine concern for others. (The Christmas season opening our eyes to the……  ( Click for more )

A herald is described as someone who foretells what or who is to come, a dignitary announcing significant news; sometimes an ambassador carrying official messages and/or proclamations. Such a person was John bar Zechariah, later identified by his “occupation”, calling sinners to repentance and baptizing……  ( Click for more )

Some thought the discovery of a long-lost gospel a few years ago would force Christianity to re-think itself because of its portrayal of the quintessential traitor – Judas – as a trusted friend and confidant of Christ. Rev. Donald Senior, President of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago however,……  ( Click for more )

I generally try to be positive with everyone, and my comments now hopefully won’t be interpreted as an attack on anyone. However, ongoing news coverage of three individuals, and the issues they represent, seem to me to be symptomatic of society today. The one featured Melissa McCarthy, a plus-sized……  ( Click for more )

That’s unreasonable, isn’t it? Not everything benefits me; in fact, I don’t like a lot of what happens. Yet much of thankfulness has to do with our attitude toward life. Some people suffer through hardship or calamity and ask, “Why me?” Others realize it could have been worse……  ( Click for more )

Music plays a significant role in rallying people to any number of causes, unifying hearts and minds and eliciting a response to those causes’ needs. Incorporated into worship, it facilitates our acknowledgement of God as we praise him for who he is and what he does. It has at times become a point……  ( Click for more )

Most positive things have a corresponding negative aspect. Music is no exception as it inspires, incites, emboldens and excites. It likewise calms, refocuses, and encourages; leading us to contemplation and hopefully a reasoned response. Which includes seeking, praising and glorifying God. Complicating……  ( Click for more )