This Sunday, June Ninth, Christians will celebrate the Day of Pentecost, the last major festival of their church calendar. This festival commemorates yet another promise kept by Jesus, the promise to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Since Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter with such gusto, the Day of Pentecost is sometimes overlooked. Yet…
Come from Away is a popular Broadway musical based on what took place in the town of Gander, Canada following the September 11 terror attacks. In the confusion and aftermath of the attacks the US authorities decided to ground all flights within and into the US. 38 commercial flights with almost 7,000 passengers on board…
I went to listen to a speaker recently. In her remarks she clearly endorsed the traditional views of the family and human sexuality. She backed up her presentation with statistics and personal experiences. Then there was time for questions and answers. During the Q & A one of the audience members mentioned that it would…
The first three doors of this series were from the Old Testament. Now we look at doors in the New Testament, starting with Jesus as the door of the sheep. Jesus speaks of this in John, chapter 10: [Jesus said] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the…
We install locks and security cameras on our doors to keep intruders from coming in. But what if the intruder was not some crafty thief but was God? What would keep God from coming in? As we continue with our series Doors of the Bible, tonight’s door is the Passover door. And we see that is…
Part Two of the Doors of the Bible series looks at the door to Noah’s ark. We read in Genesis 6:13–16, 7:11-16: [13] And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.…
The recent disasters involving church buildings around the world have drawn attention to the Christian faith but not for the right reasons. Several weeks ago three historically Black churches in a small area of Louisiana were set on fire. Police have arrested a suspect who they believe is responsible for all three fires. Then the…
This series looks at the many door that are mentioned in the Bible and celebrates what a blessing it is to know Jesus, the ultimate door and entrance to life eternal in heaven. In part one of this series we look at the door to our hearts through the story of Cain and Abel found…
Ordination and installation worship service in my Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod denomination are joyous, reverent celebrations marking the completion of years of hard work and training. God has provided another shepherd for a flock of his sheep. The recent ordination and istallation of Gatluk Reat at Trinity Lutheran Church, Faribault, Minnesota was the culmination of…
I like Bible verses that say a lot in just a few words. 2 Corinthians 5:15 is one of those verses: “And he died for all that those who live, might no longer live for themselves but for him who, for their sakes, died and rose again.” This point of this verse is simple: Jesus…
Mirror Neurons 