Mary Magdalene at the Tomb  (John 20), by Harold Copping (1863-1932) ————————-     (…continued) “Believe in me,” said Jesus, though there is a problem. This is a nice story, but can we believe it? 2,000 years is a long time ago, and the whole thing is pretty unscientific. Eternal life is a nice hope; but […]
3205) Believing the Easter Story (2/2) Read More »
    Few people get to live a life as blessed, as successful, and as prosperous as Thomas Jefferson. He was born to wealth and then lived in luxury all of his 83 years. He enjoyed good health for 82 of those years; only in his last year of life did he begin to fail. He
3204) Believing the Easter Story (1/2) Read More »
   John Lewis Dyer (1812-1901; pictured above) was a Methodist circuit riding preacher in the 1800’s. These men went out to the very edge of the frontier to preach God’s word to the new settlers. There were no church buildings for the earliest pioneers, so these preachers traveled a wide circuit to meet with
3177) Saying Good-Bye Read More »
By Randy Alcorn, January 27, 2025, at: http://www.epm.org ——————————————    I asked the men in my weekly small group, “If you knew today you had only one week to live, what would you do?” We came up with a number of answers and then asked ourselves why we wouldn’t do those things soon—this week
3175) One Week to Live Read More »
   There were two criminals crucified with Jesus. At first, according to Matthew’s account, both men mocked and insulted Jesus, just like much of the rest of the crowd present that day. Then later, according to Luke, one of the criminals apparently had a change of heart. He stopped mocking, and then had a
3165) “What are You Doing Here?” Read More »
   (…continued) In Martin Luther’s darkest days it seemed all he had to look forward to was failure, disgrace, capture, and execution.  In those dark days he said:  “It occurred to me that it has always been God’s way to create something out of nothing.  So if before God can do anything through me,
3163) Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust (2/2) Read More »
   “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we say as we bury our dead.  Ashes and dust are two powerful Biblical images of our mortality.  And now, even as we look forward to Spring when everything comes to life, the church year brings us that same reminder of death– Ash Wednesday.  Worshipers go forward
3162) Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust (1/2) Read More »
   A while back my wife and I went to a Saturday evening worship service at a Roman Catholic church near where we live.  The church building was well over a hundred years old and was built in the traditional, ornate style.  It was a beautiful sanctuary with an elaborate, huge altar in the
3159) A Skull on the Altar Read More »
From a funeral sermon: ————–    Elsie and her husband Ray lived in many places, did many different things, and endured many challenges together. In the early 1940’s Elsie worked for Boeing as a riveter; like “Rosie the Riveter” in the World War II posters. She was small, so her job was to crawl
3151) “I’m Just Fine” Read More »
   In Acts 17 Paul is proclaiming the Gospel to some Greek philosophers in the marketplace in Athens.  Paul begins the discussion by commenting on the culture around him, connecting with what his listeners are already familiar with. He refers to the many altars, shrines, and idols he saw on his walk around the
3150) Forever Young Read More »
