When I was at Duke Divinity School, I took a lot of preaching classes. One day in preaching class, the professor asked a student how long he worked on his sermon. The student said he didn’t work on sermons. God gave him the words on the way to church. The professor quickly said his sermon […]
Today marks the beginning of the holy season we call Lent. The word Lent originally meant “springtime” or the lengthening of days. The early church celebrated Lent only for a few days before Easter, and instead of a small smudge of ash on the forehead, the ashes were sprinkled over the person’s head. In the […]
Valentine’s Day is also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine and is celebrated on February 14. A number of martyrdom stories are associated with various Valentines connected to February 14, including an account of the imprisonment of St. Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in […]
During the month of January, I had two surgeries. Both were to remove cataracts so I could see better. Each time I arrived at the surgery center, they hooked up an I.V. so they could give me something to settle me down, if I needed it. In neither procedure did they give me anything, so […]
When we lived in Harrisonburg, we were awakened one night by something flying around our bedroom. t was a bat! I got a broom, and we opened up the front door and finally persuaded the bat to leave. This disrupted our night’s sleep, and a few nights later the same thing happened. I discovered that […]
Have you ever heard the song written by Dottie Rambo in 1967 – “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need”? Listening to the words from this song on the radio, and I thought they were, “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Knees,” which didn’t make any sense. Dottie later wrote that […]
While pastoring in Manassas, I did many funerals for military officials. At almost every funeral a bugler played “Taps.” I wondered where the funeral director found so many good buglers until one day I discovered the secret. There was a trumpet that had a battery in it, and all you had to do was push […]
Christmas is over. As we take down the Christmas tree and put away the lights that have adorned our homes, I wonder if we have learned anything during the Christmas of the pandemic? It’s been the most unusual one I have ever experienced. We took our grandchildren and children their presents, but we exchanged them […]
Epiphany happens on January 6 every year. It is the 13th day of the Christmas season. The word “epiphany” means “appearance” or “manifestation.” The arrival of the three wise men was a sign that the coming of Jesus was recognized by the whole world. Even wise men from the east, who were gentiles, came to […]
Most of us build up to Christmas! We buy presents, do the cooking, house cleaning and decorating. This year is different. Even if we did the decorating, present buying and house cleaning, we weren’t supposed to have parties or large get-togethers. Our tendency is to build toward huge events, but things are different with the […]