Archive for January 2018
“My Child Is a Flower” Stewardship Songs
Rev. Dan Damon is an inspired writer of hymn texts and tunes, as well as a seminary teacher, pastor and friend. I was thrilled when he showed me a stewardship song he had written after I preached at his church one day. But his new songbook, My Child Is a Flower, contains many thoughtful, creative,…
Read MoreI Am Blessed!
Last week I got to hear Rev. Dr. Alex Awad, pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, professor at Bethlehem Bible College, and retired missionary for the United Methodist Church. A Palestinian Christian who was born in Jerusalem, he is a direct descendant of those first disciples at Pentecost. But because he is a Palestinian, he…
Read MoreRev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Legacy
God calls us to be stewards not only of our personal relationships, but also of our communities, which ultimately can affect justice on a national, even world-wide, scale. In these turbulent political days, I am grateful for people who speak up publicly in a variety of ways, because of their faith. Today is the day…
Read MoreEpiphany — God Beyond the Boundaries
Most of us really like our comfort zones: the settings and situations in which we can feel confident in certain roles, know our neighbors or coworkers, and trust that nothing too unexpected and dangerous will catch us by surprise. But those Magi – the wise ones who followed that odd star to the Jesus’ birthplace…
Read MoreEpiphany — Stewards of the Light
January 6, this Saturday, is Epiphany: the day Christians around the globe celebrate the coming of the Magi from faraway lands, to give gifts to the Christ child in Bethlehem. It occurs to me that those Magi were the ultimate outsiders. To begin with, they were not Jews but Gentiles, coming from Egypt or the…
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