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Last week I wrote about the corrupt and fallible reality of power. I talked about how power as a means of domination has always been a stain on our history. I quoted figures both modern and ancient. Two of those figures that I held in dialogue were Thomas Hobbes and John Calvin. It just so happens that I have recently immersed myself in a dialogue between those two titans, and in this research I came across a particularly trenchant observation about the nature of power and ab

This should stand as a warning to those who seek to use their power over people. History does not judge well those who use their might as an explanation of their own righteousness. Those who use their power to seek their own ends often find their own end.

There is a big shift in how church works in the world these days. Populations age. Numbers decline. Buildings lay unused. The reality is that the world no longer works the way that it used to. When the Israelites were in Egypt, they had access to all the water they wanted. It wasn’t under the best of circumstances, but they had access to it. But then they started acting like the desert should have been the same as what it was like in Egypt.

There is a better world available to us. I know this fact; I can testify to this fact. I don’t know what to do with that fact.

Our faith compels us to love our neighbor; to seek justice for the oppressed; to be in humble service to those who need it the most. Our faith impels us to live lives that witness to a kingdom in which all are loved and all people are seen as beautiful. Our faith is what guides us to find love even among our enemies; to seek common good despite differences; to stand against those things that prevent human flourishing. Neither heaven nor hell are a part of that equation.

Cliches have all sorts of different origins and etymologies, from the modern to the ancient. And it turns out that a lot of these cliches come from the Bible, or are informed by faith and religious culture. I thought it might be a fun to find some cliches that I didn’t realize were in that category.

People are free to choose the political system they want but not free to do whatever they like. They will have to be judged by God’s justice in the political or social system they choose. God is the judge of all social systems. Neither the gospel nor the church can be monopolized by any political or social movement.

I don’t know what it was about this Advent season, but it feels like this was the sneakiest Christmas I’ve had in years. There are some Christmases where it seems like Advent started in mid-July and dragged on. This was not one of those Advents. Instead, this was the sort of Advent that by the time it ended it had still just begun. Honestly, it makes me feel a little bit sad that the “Most wonderful time of the year” was put on 1.5 speed.

Is my Christmas Eve sermon the most important sermon of the year? This question is based on the premise that I have any real bearing on the sense of holiness that exists on Christmas Eve. What makes me think that anything I have to say could make Christmas any more or less special?

Jesus, as human, was subject to all of the things that humans were. Seeing as how we so often focus on the divine Jesus rather than the human Jesus, I think we need to remember his humanity.

For the next three Thursdays through Advent I have invited people to come to church and play games together. I am doing this in place of a book study, though the decision was a hard one to make. But Advent is about waiting, it is about preparing, it is about engaging. Engaging with scripture can help us to understand who God is and what that means to us, but engaging with one another can help us to understand who we are and what our loved ones mean to us.

Advent calls for vigilance and faith, a vigilance that makes the present now, in the middle of today’s world, this Christ who is preparing the new heavens. Christians don’t sit around and wait for everything to come in some future age. Christians know that Christ has already been working among us for twenty centuries. He is recreating humankind, but that means we need a social order that will organize the world according to the heart of God.

I haven’t been here for a long time, but I have been here long enough to get to know the members of this church. I’ve been able to develop relationships, recognize strengths, celebrate victories, and mourn losses.

Things in the world can be overwhelming and difficult. Sometimes you just need a win. I want to be proud of my new bookshelf, which I built with my own two hands. So I will be. Find the good parts of the little things and remember that you did something well.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve gone on record as someone who does not mind when pumpkin spice everything begins to seep into our collective consciousness. I may disagree that mid-July is the right time to start putting out fall-themed beverages, but I am generally in the, “Sure, have fun” camp. And so with that in mind, I present to you the next season to arrive unseasonably early. drum roll continued drum roll drum roll that has you wondering why I wrote this because it’s not lik

But this congregation and presbytery have been so gracious in providing opportunity for community that I feel like I’m able to do my best ministry. Thanks TCPC! And thanks colleagues!

It is in this connection with our worldwide community that we are able to write of hope and joy. It is in connecting with those who came before us, and remembering those who inspired those around the world that we are able to remember one another in our prayers constantly.

This is what it means to preach the gospel. This is what it looks like when the world hears a truth it can't abide.

We are supposed to love our enemies. This is something that is a notably difficult aspect of living the life that God asks of us.

I planted the eggplant with a very limited amount of experience with the vegetable, either as something to be grown or something to be eaten, but I thought this was as good a time as any to see what happens. That baby ballooned! This success led me to a secondary problem: what does one do with eggplant?