Wisdom from Ecclesiastes 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.  2  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 As we wind down for the approaching summer and we take a break from some of our programming, we dare not take a break from worship. After all, worship is not a program! Worship i ..read more

The Apostle John’s Vision for His/Our District Brothers… this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another,  just as he commanded us. 1 John 3:13, 23 This month I would like to share with you a few snippets from a sermon I delivered at our recent NJD Pastors Conference. It is from 1 John 3:13-24. While I have only printed verse 23 above I hope you will take a few minutes to read the whole passage for it is truly beautiful, significant and inspiring. First a bit of context: The 1st half, 1:1 – 3:12 is about “Living in the world and not ..read more

Ruminations of a Recovering Reverend, Part 2 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…. Romans 12:4-6a Last month I shared a few thoughts I had that arose out of the early period of my recuperation. The thought I share this month comes from a later period in the recuperation. I can’t remember exactly when it was but it was during a time after some healing had occurred and when I was ..read more

​Ruminations of a Recovering Reverend, Part 1 To Thee, O Lord, belongs righteousness but to us confusion of face. Daniel 9: 7 Other than the final outcome, it can be rather hard to see any benefits in double knee replacement. To state it mildly it is unpleasant, difficult, painful, frustrating, and, at times, downright miserable. One cannot count the days quickly enough knowing that, as much as anything, time is required for healing. Let’s face it, having surgery is humbling. It can rob you of your ability to do for yourself and your ability to do as you want. One becomes ..read more

He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem In but a few days we will experience one of the great turns in the Church Year. That turn will be from Epiphany to Lent. The day that actually makes that turn for us is The Transfiguration of Our Lord, the last Sunday of Epiphany.  Many sermons have noted how this is a climax and turning point in the synoptic Gospels and the telling of the story of our salvation. Up until this point the focus has been upon Jesus’ appearing and the revelation that he is the Christ. The transfiguration is the apex of that revelation. As Jesus comes down the mountain he a ..read more

Still Working on Forgiveness Don’t blink! If you do you just might miss the Season of Epiphany this year. Easter comes early this year and that means Ash Wednesday does too and that Epiphany is short; just five Sundays and Transfiguration! Quite often we have been so busy in December that we kind of just wander through the beginning of January trying to recover. Then when we get focused again we are half way through Epiphany. I encourage you to try not to miss Epiphany. It is such a beautiful season in which our Lord is revealed to us. We learn once again of his appearance, his nature, and h ..read more

​Keeping you informed… A Different Version of the Christmas Story A good number of years ago, while I was still in the parish, I was struggling to choose a text for my Christmas Day sermon. I wanted to do something a bit different to bring out a new aspect of Christmas for the people. In my search I came across a very different version of the Christmas story. I was hesitant to use the idea at first. After all Christmas is a beloved and sacred time. One rightly treads lightly when introducing something new. So where does one find a different version of the Christmas story? Well, how about in ..read more

Thanksgiving for Today! Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.  Ecclesiastes 7:9-10 I had a wonderful opportunity this past Sunday. Not only did I get to worship at the congregation where Cheryl and I are members, but I got to attend Bible Class! That doesn’t happen too often with my visitation and service schedule. But it did this past Sunday and I was able to study a portion of Ecclesiastes with the people of God. The two verses above and t ..read more