I Cor. 1: 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where...

" It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is...

A source of ongoing inspiration for me each week are the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.  There are usually several for each Sunday of the church calendar, composed over his many years of service in Weimar and Leipzig, Germany. Very few cantatas, however,...

This morning’s news carried the heart-wrenching news of another attack of Islamic militants against Christians of the ancient churches of the Middle East. The church being targeted is the Assyrian Orthodox Church, whose roots go back to the Jewish community of the...

Genesis 9: 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of...

Mark 9: 1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain...

(A message delivered on Sunday, February 8, 2015) You’re here today for an historic event. Never before have I preached from the Song of Solomon. I wonder if anyone else has from this pulpit. I hope so, but that would be unique throughout our churches. I also wonder...

Ruth 1: 16: Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with...

One of my objectives this year (and that of our Worship Commission) is to explore three new sources of worship music, by which I mean “new” to us, personally. Gregorian chant could fit the bill, if we haven’t been exposed to it before. By circumstance, or more likely,...

I have an email subscription to a daily delivery of quotations from the writings and sermons of  Henry Nouwen, a priest, theologian, author and speaker. You can sign up for them too. They come pastor-recommended. Yesterday's quote still has me in its grip and seems to...