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Monthly Archives: March 2010
My Ten Influential Books
Tim Stafford says it’s good for bloggers to give their top ten list of books. The classics linger in me, as does Wheelock’s Latin Grammar. But on lists like this I think people are more interested in contemporary works. So … Continue reading
Posted in Books
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I Was a Young Calvinist
A long article on a resurgent Calvinism at the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC. This pattern – convict worshipers of their sin, then show them spiritual elation – has a gripping effect on the assembly. After the service, … Continue reading
Jesus and the Donkey
[This sermon doesn't follow a typical structure for me. It's more a collage than anything. And I preached using only the briefest outline. So the message delivered was a little different than the full manuscript. But the delivery flowed well. … Continue reading
Like a Child
Our congregation held its annual Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. It was chilly, but at least it didn’t snow as it did two years ago. It’s hard to tell who has more fun at these hunts – the older children who hide the … Continue reading
Bottom-Up Thinking
John Polkinghorne on bottom-up thinking: I call myself a bottom-up thinker. I try to move from experience to understanding, to look at experiences, which may be our own experiences or accounts of others; in fact, in the religious case, they … Continue reading
The Family of Faith
Today’s Gospel reading includes this: Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the … Continue reading
Where You Are Complete
A parishioner gave me a copy of Sarah Young’s bestselling Jesus Calling, a book of daily devotions. This portion of today’s reading touched me: This is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved … Continue reading
Primer on Health Care Reform
The Monitor has a summary of the health care bill, “twice as long and half as intelligible” as War and Peace. Now that the bill has passed, it might be good to study up on its provisions. And here’s Ann … Continue reading
Sermon on Mary Anointing Jesus
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
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The Train Leaps Out of the Lake
Ruth’s grandfather was a railroad man whose train plunged off a bridge into a lake. One day she wanders in the woods near the lake, watching the hoboes warily. I thought of telling them that our grandfather still lay in … Continue reading
Marcus Borg and Earl the Fundamentalist
In his book The Heart of Christianity, Marcus Borg contrasts an earlier paradigm of Christian belief with an emerging paradigm he espouses. The earlier vision is a strict form of Christian fundamentalism, and the emerging is mainline progressivism. After hearing … Continue reading
Saved By the Things That Ignore Us
I’ve been laid up for a few days, waiting for a certain medical condition to heal itself. Sunday was a painful thing. I’m better today — a minor affliction compared to many. Lying still has given me a chance to … Continue reading
All My Children
I am sad not to have children of my own. I feel their absence in our home. It’s my own fault. My wife wanted to adopt years ago, but I resisted because of fear. Then the moment passed — the … Continue reading
Posted in Children
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Asa Mahan and Salmon
I took a group of seniors to our local museum yesterday to see “Myth, Mischief and Mahan,” an exhibit on the history of Adrian College. Mahan is Asa Mahan, founder and first president of the college. Asa is one of … Continue reading
A Merciful Heart
What is a merciful heart? It is the heart’s burning for all of creation, for men, for birds, for animals, and even for demons. At the remembrance and at the sight of them, the merciful man’s eyes fill with tears … Continue reading
Repent or Perish
I preached this sermon last night with stuff hanging out of my nose — another Great Moment In Preaching. Hopefully it wasn’t visible from too far away. At that very time there were some present who told him about the … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
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Created to Burn
On its own, coal is nothing lovely. It’s inert, dusty, and cold. But it has this capacity: It can burn. In fact, it might be said that coal is created to burn, that receiving flame is the telos, the destiny … Continue reading
Night At the Shelter
What a long 24 hours I’ve finished. First there was a personal medical issue, which hopefully will clear itself with antibiotics. Then there was the rest of the day at two hospitals attending to ill parishioners — one was helicoptered … Continue reading
Homeless In Heels
Our congregation is sponsoring a week of Share the Warmth, a homeless shelter through the winter housed at the Salvation Army. We are responsible to provide two volunteers, a man and a woman, for an evening shift and an overnight … Continue reading
My Chief Fear
“What do you think she’s afraid of?” We were sitting at Mario’s Mexican Restaurant discussing a mutual acquaintance. It took time and reflection to answer the question. I looked at the person’s behavior and then identified the fear that prompts … Continue reading
