Above: Rembrandt’s Raising of the Cross (1633) Rembrandt painted himself in the center of the painting (with beret) illustrating that he, like all sinners, was responsible for Christ’s suffering and death. ———————————- (…continued) We can begin by noting that the suffering of Jesus was not limited to the cross on Good Friday. His suffering […]
2849) Pulling Back the Curtain (2/2) Read More »
Above: Agnus Dei (The Lamb of God), Francisco Zubaran (1598-1664) (in the 1630’s Zubaran painted at least five versions of this) ——————– John 1:29 — The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Revelation 5:12 — In a loud voice
2848) Pulling Back the Curtain (1/2) Read More »
By William Willimon, Pastor, pages 99-100, Abingdon, 2002 Early in my ministry I arrived at a hospital room where a woman in my church had just given birth. I had been told that “there were problems with the birth.” A couple sat in the hospital room waiting for the doctor. The doctor appeared
The familiar painting above was done in 1899 by English painter Alfred Soord (1868-1915). It hangs in St. Barnabas church in Homerton, a suburb of London. ************************** (…continued) The sins for which the Good Shepherd died are not always dramatic or horrible. They are often passive, sheep-like little sins. But still they can lead
2778) The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life (b) Read More »
Under her senior picture in the school yearbook, Rita was given the distinction of being ‘The Most Likely to Succeed.’ I don’t know if they do that anymore in yearbooks, but in 1977 Rita was the one for her class. She was a friend to everyone and she was brilliant. No one was
2777) The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life (a) Read More »
From Let Me Tell You a Story, by Tony Campolo, page 21, ©2000 by T. Campolo ————– A new recruit went into training at Parris Island, hoping to become a marine. He was one of those young men who seemed to be a bit out of step with the norm, and he easily became the
2775) Saving Lives Read More »
Above photo: Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in Beach Party, 1963 ********************** Annette Funicello (1942-2013) in The Mickey Mouse Club, 1956 ———————— “The Asterisk in an Obituary” by Robert Petterson, in The One Year Book of Amazing Stories, Tyndale, 2018, pages 537-538. ——————————– She was as cute as a button, the first crush for a
2669) America’s Favorite Mouseketeer Read More »
Peter is 31 years old, a hard worker, and devoted to his job. He is good at what he does and is quickly moving ahead of everyone in his office, even those who have been at the company for many more years. He is moving up to the highest levels of management in
2607) Character, Conscience, Courage Read More »
In his book Tortured for Christ, Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001) tells the story of a priest who had been subjected to severe torture in the prisons of communist Romania in the 1950’s and 60’s. Under torture, the priest had been forced to offer a mass in the prison for all to see, consecrating not
2520) Jesus Carried Our Sorrows (a) Read More »
From Loving God, by Chuck Colson, 1983, Zondervan, pages 242-243 In the fourth century there had been an Asiatic monk who had spent most of his life in a remote community of prayer, raising vegetables for the cloister kitchen. When he was not tending his garden spot, he was fulfilling his vocation of study and prayer.
2490) One Monk vs. the Gladiators Read More »
