Right now, we have no audio of this sermon to post. If that changes, the sermon will be uploaded. Perhaps, you delighted in watching the old movie clips. Perhaps, you lived it. World War 2 was over, and we welcomed our veterans back home, victorious from the fight. Flags lined the procession. Guests of honor […]
Ron and Vashon’s Wedding Homily
March 19, 2016 by
Ronald Leach and Vashon Borich were married on March 19, 2016 at Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. As you can see, the chapel is beautiful, nestled in the woods. This is their wedding homily. Because the chapel is such a popular place where many choose to get married, the service and sermon were abbreviated (hence, the word […]
Suffering Through the Lenses of Job, Lesson 7: Job’s Recognition, Repentance, and Restoration
March 19, 2016 by
Intro The Lord answered Job, pulling Job from an inward focus on his suffering to what is beyond: God. By stating who He is and what that means, God inductively taught Job: If I am all-powerful, then I am taking care of you in my way and time. I am even more powerful than the […]
Suffering Through the Lenses of Job, Lesson 6: The Lord Answers Job
March 19, 2016 by
Intro Elihu came, said his words, and left. We now find God responding to Job’s suffering. The Whirlwind: The Law and Judgement against His Enemies Isaiah 29:6: Judgment will come from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—with thunder, earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind, tempest, and flames of consuming fire. Jeremiah 23:19: Look, a […]
The Books of the Old Testament: The Apocrypha
March 17, 2016 by
This article is a supplement to the church bulletin for our Palm Sunday service. The Old Testament reading is from 2 Maccabees 10:1-7, which gives us a better context for understanding the people’s response as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The text from 2 Maccabees reads: With the Lord leading them, Maccabeus and his followers restored […]
Our Lord’s Final Words from the Cross: Finished
March 16, 2016 by
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” In clear-cut and dramatic language, the Bible tells us how everything began. “In the beginning, God created.” What then of the end? God is still there! In the sixth word from the cross is our Savior, who was there in the beginning, through whom “everything […]
Isaiah 43:16-21: Remembering and Forgetting
March 13, 2016 by
Old age creeps into our lives, sometimes stealing our memories from us. Now, we may joke about it, but the humor soon dies away, forgotten as the forgetfulness increases. How frustrating not to remember the past or someone’s name. How distressing for the events in your life to fade away and disappear. How heart-breaking for […]
Hebrews 11:1-2, 39-12:2; Luke 15:1-7: Irma is Now Part of the Great Cloud of Witnesses
March 12, 2016 by
The secret life of the saints in eternity; the secret life of Irma. Their life isn’t secret; we’ve just forgotten what it includes. And when we forget, we shortchange their lives. How is that possible? How can you shorten the life of a saint in eternity? He is beyond, outside, the realms of time, in […]
Our Lord’s Final Words From the Cross: John 19:28-29: Thirst
March 9, 2016 by
Dying on the cross, Jesus cries out, “I thirst!” Next to His other cross-borne words, “I thirst” seems insignificant, unremarkable. Unlike His other statements, which rang out with the weightiness of eternity, what Jesus speaks now seems slight, even mundane. So, why did Jesus speak those words while He dies on the tree? Why did […]
Suffering Through the Lenses of Job, Lesson 5: Elihu
March 9, 2016 by
Intro Throughout his suffering, Job’s understanding his Redeemer gave him hope. Job knew that his suffering here did not define him. He knew that in His flesh he would see God. The resurrection of the body enabled Job to remain in the faith, even as his fallen body suffered and betrayed him. A Fourth […]
