Mark 1:9-15
Editor’s Note: This devotional is the first of seven to run in the Outlook in observance of the 2009 Lenten season. They are based on the lectionary texts for each week.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is shrinking in membership, because we have fewer members in nurseries than in nursing homes. We’re dying faster than we’re birthing. Our demographics are working against us.
When we use the term “customer-driven,” as opposed to “provider-driven,” to describe best practices in church management and program, we aren’t redefining church members as paying customers in a profit-making enterprise.
Reading and reflecting on Erwin C. Barron’s three-part essay on the perennial controversy over ordination of gay and lesbian pastors — (November 10, 17 and 24, 2008 issues of The Presbyterian Outlook), as well as subsequent related letters from readers — has been a discouraging experience for this observer. A highly contentious vote of the presbyteries is coming, and a basis for genuine consensus does not exist. No matter which side “wins” the presbytery balloting in coming months, the issue will not be settled and will not go away. It seems probable that continuing contention in the short term will only delay the adoption of a widely accepted way forward, but that forbearance in the short term could favor success over time.
I was five when I was baptized. I don't know why they waited, but one Sunday my parents took me and my little brother to the local Presbyterian Church. I vividly remember standing in front of the congregation, excited, knowing something very special was happening but entirely unsure of what it was. An elder from the Session gave us each a tiny embroidered rainbow as a reminder of God’s Covenant. It still hangs in my childhood room in my parents’ home.
If the chief end of man [and woman] is to glorify God, then the central purpose of worship must be the same. While pursuing that purpose, would it be inappropriate for worshipers to enjoy God as well? Reformed worship proclaims God’s greatness. It also teaches participants to order their beliefs and behaviors in godly ways. It calls believers to gather in community and to scatter into mission. But enjoy God? Not in First Presbyterian Church!
In an age of “TMI” — “Too Much Information” — it is critical that all church communications acknowledge “brevity (as) the soul of wit.”
Hey You –
Close to real skin color David —
What slingshot will you use to fight our ailments?
The media have been full of stories and commentaries on the water landing of a US Airways passenger jet that resulted in no fatalities, and few serious injuries. Often, almost too often, the outcome of this potential mass tragedy has been proclaimed to be a miracle. One commentator said that the happy ending was the result of a series of small miracles.
As our congregations respond bravely to the worsening recession, we should also learn from it.
Steve Monsma is senior research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College and professor..
Some convergences of timing — no matter how amazing — reflect little more than a coincidence. That an African-American would be inaugurated as the president of the United States just 23 days before the 200th birthday of the president who proclaimed emancipation for African-Americans is just such a coincidence.
Two recent and very ordinary events have set me thinking about a New Year’s resolution that might just be worthwhile for us..
She was birdlike and petite, with a hawk nose and an attractive smile. She was routinely mocked in parliament by big angry men shouting "Go back to Moscow" or "Go back to Israel." Yet this indomitable Jewish woman could make strong men tremble. Oh, and she helped break down the walls of apartheid in South Africa.
During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama affirmed directly that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. Will his profession be demonstrated in the legislation he promotes and in the leadership he exerts?
Churches are already planning for their Vacation Bible Schools this summer. Publishers of VBS material have provided the following synopses of their curricula for 2009.
Where better to turn for a source of New Year’s resolutions than the Ten Commandments? Martin Luther’s exposition of the Eighth Commandment*..
As people return to church during the holiday season, remember that you have two stories to tell.
So how was your 2008? On many fronts it looked bleak: the collapse of the financial markets, an often ugly political race that turned incendiary on religious issues, continuing conflicts among the world’s religions — including stepped up persecution of Christians in some mostly Muslim and Hindu countries.
‘Tis a sign of the season: Brunswick, Ohio, cancelled its holiday lights display due to a lack of money. Snowflakes normally hung from the downtown light poles stayed in storage for possible use next year.
If the First Beatitude is true about the blessedness of knowing our need of God, the current financial crisis opens the door to important progress in Spiritual Development.
From the time of Christ, his followers have struggled to recreate a wholesome life and community that reconciles each of us to one another and to God. Instead of reconciliation, however, we frequently find ourselves trapped by circumstances that limit our capacities to be free to love, to live a life rich with possibilities, and instead, find ourselves isolated and broken.
“Doubt” opens with the parish priest, Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) delivering a brief, eloquent homily about doubt. This is the 1950s, and the well-dressed, clean-scrubbed congregation sits in rapt attention, in part because Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is the self-appointed behavior modifier.
As I have gotten older, I have shifted one hundred eighty degrees in my attitude toward the penitential seasons of Advent and..
'Tis the season for looking back
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