Continuing from last post…. When we place the bits and pieces of a tree in one place, we don’t have a tree; we just have bits. They may be interesting, but they are not alive. My fear is that we might have done just this with our faith and worship. We might have scrubbed it [...]
C.S. Lewis pointed out that one of the distinguishing marks of the Christian faith was the existence and work of the Holy Spirit. No other religion, he said, has anything approximating the Spirit and His work. A lot of ink and blood has been spilled over exactly how the Spirit works and moves. I will [...]
The first Christmas wasn’t one. No, this isn’t a rant against materialism or the recycling of pagan holidays. This is a collection of some of my reflections this day as we prepare for Christmas Eve and then the big day itself. 1. We never hear about Mary’s parents. Did they disown her when she was [...]
“Oir rugadh dhuinne-cloinne, thugadh dhuinne mac; agus bithidh an uachdaranachd air a ghualainn; agus goirear mar ainm dheth, Iongantach, Comhairliche, and Dia cumhachdach, an t-Athair siorruidh, Prionnsa na sithe!” For those of you who don’t read Gaelic, the above is Isaiah 9:6 — “For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is [...]
It is a very expensive time of year for us. My wife’s birthday was last Saturday. Mine is Friday. We’re not sure when Jesus’ is but we’ve decided to celebrate on the 25th anyway (and we’re keeping the church open!). We don’t do candles on the cakes anymore due to local open burning regulations, but [...]
Last Friday night 260+ of us from the Rochester Church went to see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe together. Two of the ladies of the church had the idea to approach a theater, arrange for purchasing tickets, and even set up a dessert reception after the movie at the church building where the [...]
In the current controversy over the shooting of a man at Miami International Airport, it might be good to review the rules for handling firearms and shooting… and then make the obligatory spiritual application. 1. Consider all firearms to be loaded all the time.2. Never point your firearm at anything you are not willing to [...]
There is a strange British expression to indicate that you have really, really messed something up. You are said to have “made a dog’s lunch” of it. It’s gross, but it means that your efforts ended up like what a dog throws up. Yech, right? There’s another kind of lunch, though. Remember the little boy [...]