How do we define love? Some say it is a feeling or an emotion that we have very little control over. Others say love is an action and we have control of how we act and do love. So, is love a noun – speaking about our emotions and affections, or is love a verb – showing our action and reactions as…
Open. Grow. Serve.
Sermons on John (Page 6)
I wonder if you have heard this one: Several centuries ago in the 1300s, the Pope decreed that Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Italy. There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal: he’d have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, they could stay in…
We entered in the darkness tonight, friends. On the longest day of the year, we entered into a dark room. Already, we have lit together two candles. We light candles to remind of God’s presence. We light candles to call our own attention to God. Pay attention tonight to the light. It might be easy to look for the darkness, but look…
In 2017, together Bill and Melinda Gates have a net worth of approximately 89 billion dollars. They have contributed technology to the world that shapes many of our day to day lives, and also they been have been working to eradicate malaria and polio from the world in sustainable and incredible ways. I stand amazed…
There is an old joke told about three clergy people. A Baptist minister and a Roman Catholic priest were fishing in a boat together along with an Anglican clergy. The Roman Catholic priest and the Anglican clergy got to talking about their life challenges. “I confess” the Roman Catholic priest said “that I have a…
We like to figure things out for ourselves, don’t we? No one tells me what to do! I “do it my way” (feel free to start singing Frank Sinatra!) Left to our own devices, we can often do it our way and be alright. There’s iPhones and microwave ovens and soon self-driving cars! Then there…
It was thousands of years ago that the Cushites built the Tower of Babel, but they were not alone. It was 700 years before the birth of Christ that Great Wall of China was begun. The last construction of the 6,000-kilometer fortification was completed in the Ming dynasty by 1644. The London Tower was begun…
Last weekend, I joined thousands of people who went to go see the movie, Wonder Woman in the theater. A story some will be familiar with from the comic books of yesteryear. The movie builds on what is known, as well as introduces answers to burning questions. Every good story hooks the reader with an…
I wonder if you have every heard this one: “Timmy was a little five-year-old boy that his Mom loved very much and being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started Kindergarten. She walked him to school for the first couple of days, but when he came home one day,…
Moms are known for comforting their children. We think of overtired mom rocking the little one to sleep, maybe for the third time. We think of “there, there, little one.” That comes after a scrapped knew required a kiss and an extra hug. We think of the teenager who flops on the bed and “just…