Maker of Heaven and EarthThis summer I picked up Mary Oliver’s collection of poems called Devotions at a local book shop. It is her self-selected greatest hits...
In God the AlmightyLast week we looked at the opening statement of the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God the Father. I quoted two of Jesus’ descriptions of...
In God the FatherMany confessions of faith attempt to describe God by listing his attributes. For example, The Westminster Confession describes God thus:...
I BelieveIt feels wrong to begin a walk through the Apostles’ Creed with the word “I.” I believe. The Christian faith is primarily about God not...
Keep to the Old Roads“...if and when the time ever came, it would be the presence of God rather than his absence that I would write about, of death and dark...
The Creative Disarming of HostilityIf you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? Matthew 5:46 October 2024 Jesus’...
Quick to reconcile, slow to angerI remember David Powlison suggesting that the most basic definition of anger is: “I don’t like that.” We get angry because something is...
A Kingdom Life21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’...
Straining Gnats Only to Swallow Camels"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."...
Here, for good. "Bettering the world by being in it." Leif Enger - I Cheerfully Refuse There is a moment in Leif Enger’s new novel, I Cheerfully Refuse,...
What is the good life?“You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” Jesus in Matthew 5:13-14 April 2024 How would you answer the question:...
Who is truly blessed? March 2024 Years ago, a church I was a part of did a small group study of a book called, The Question of God. It was written by a Harvard...
What is it you want me to do for you? 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” Mark 10:36 February 2024 At dinner the other night our kids were sharing...
Grace, Gratitude and JoyDecember 2023 Ben Patterson tells a story of a Sunday dinner at his grandma’s house when he was eight years old. A huge roast of beef was...
A New Commandment: Love one another.The way God works in my life is most often through what I am currently reading, studying, teaching, and thinking about. This isn’t...
October Newsletter - God's CharacterIndeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who...
July Newsletter - Our FatherEvery month I write a newsletter for Union Park Presbyterian Church. I thought I would share them on the website. "Who one believes God...
Day 40 - Psalm 145 - Waiting in HopeDay 40 – Holy Saturday Read Psalm 145 Between Jesus’ death on Friday and his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday there was a Sabbath...
Day 39 - Psalm 22: Forsaken for usDay 39 – Good Friday Read Psalm 22 The beginning of Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus on the cross. “My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?”...
Day 38 - Psalm 142 and Maundy ThursdayDay 38 – Maundy Thursday Read Psalm 142 God hears the cry of the oppressed and the afflicted. He hears both corporate cries, like the...