“Take up your cross and follow me.” For two thousand years the church has found in these words of our Lord the supreme call to discipleship. What the twentieth century martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “the cost of discipleship” is summed up in this terse summons of Jesus. But what is… Continue reading
In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s masterpiece The Brothers Karamazov, we find a remarkable statement: “In the realist, faith is not born from miracles, but miracles from faith.” I have been puzzled for years over the miracle stories of Jesus. He healed all kinds of people with all kinds of diseases. He calmed… Continue reading
(The following sermon dates from a time when I pastored a large church with many demands place upon me not only by the parishioners and their families but by my own denomination, another denomination historically devoted to peace and justice, and several organizations within the area. I was overwhelmed and… Continue reading
“Grace and peace to you from the God who is, who was, and who is coming.” John begins his letter to the churches of Asia Minor with this powerful and meaning-packed greeting. And he has chosen his words very carefully, for John, more than any other writer of the New… Continue reading
I would like to approach joy beginning with some of the words people confuse with joy and see how joy is different from these spiritual counterfeits. Perhaps backing into joy this way will allow us to gain a fresh understanding and useful appreciation of what Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called “the most unmistakable sign of the presence of God.” Continue reading
Those who think the direction of the gospel is from earth to heaven have one thing in common with those who are obsessed with when the Lord will return. They are about as useful as a square wheel when it comes to living the gospel. Continue reading
That day on the Mount of Olives marks a pivotal transition in the life of the church. Luke is the only Gospel writer to report this ascension. We don’t do much with the ascension in our theology. In fact, some people are embarrassed by the way Luke presents it. Is… Continue reading
According to a Jewish folktale, there were once two brothers who farmed together and split their profits right down the middle – half to one brother and half to the other. Each brother had his own granary. One brother was married and had a large family while the other remained… Continue reading
Imagine if you will that you are a teenage boy some 2600 years ago in the Kingdom of Judah and God’s word comes to you in a powerful and unmistakable way. God says, “You are to be my prophet to the nations.” Like Jeremiah you would probably protest–“I am too… Continue reading
(14 minutes) In a scene from N. Richard Nash’s play called The Rainmaker, two people have a conversation in a rural area during the drought-stricken Great Depression. Starbuck, the dreamer of dreams that almost never come true, complains to Lizzy about a world in which reality falls far short of… Continue reading
