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At the gate of the year
In the dark, uncertain days of late 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, England’s King George VI wanted to encourage his nation, so in his Christmas message he read a poem, “God Knows” (also known as “The Gate of the Year”), by Minnie Louise Haskins, an almost unknown teacher at the London Continue reading
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Out of silence, yes!
How do you make music? Some would say you do it by combining vocal or instrumental sounds, or both, to produce a pleasing form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Each Sunday at Holy Trinity we worship immersed in music that speaks to and for our hearts more deeply than mere words can do. But what Continue reading
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The tipping point
Advent is an awkward, unsettled, ambiguous season. Retail Christmas decorations pop up as early as midsummer, and Christmas music starts filling the airwaves in November. The Hallmark Channel runs Christmas movies year-round. In churches, the urge to decorate for Christmas and sing Christmas music starts as soon as Advent begins. And in our homes, some Continue reading
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God in the gains and losses
Some scriptures to me are like a sweet dessert: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15); “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, as sure as the sunrise” (Lam. 3:22-23); “Teach Continue reading
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First things first
James liked cheese. He more than liked it; he loved it. When he was a young boy, he wanted to be the wealthiest and most famous maker and seller of cheese in the world, so he started a small business with a little wagon and a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would Continue reading
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The bottom line
After I had delivered a particularly open-ended sermon, someone approached me and asked, with a look of friendly but serious frustration, “So what’s the bottom line?” Apparently she had been expecting an insight that would help her understand something about life, a teaching that would answer her questions, or an application that would inform her Continue reading
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The wisdom of the wood sorrel
When the teacher makes the same point again and again, you can be sure it will be on the test. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16), Jesus said, “the last will be first, and the first will be last” (v. 16). At the end of the previous chapter he said, Continue reading
The Sauntering Pilgrim 