ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 23, 2022In Leviticus 25, we read about an important conviction of the people’s faith – Jubilee. It says, “You will make the fiftieth year holy, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a Jubilee year for you: each of you must return to your family property and to your extended family. The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee year for you.”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 22, 2022Cypress Creek Christian Church will officially turn 50 years old on Saturday, March 12. As a community, we will celebrate during worship on March 13. There are other events in the works, including a fun fashion show from each of the decades of the church’s fifty years. There will be numerous fundraisers for the Special Pentecost Offering to support new churches. Some of those fundraisers
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 21, 2022Tonight, at Cypress Creek Christian Church, the new 2022 Elders will meet. This is the beginning of a retreat for the Leadership of the Church. Tomorrow, the Elders will be joined by the new Board. Part of it is simply to get better acquainted. We will spend time doing some of the practical work, training and preparing for certain tasks. Time will be spent dreaming,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 20, 2022A month ago, we talked about Mary’s Song or what is called the Magnificat. If it was a song, I’ve always wondered what the tune sounded like as it has some pretty harsh stuff. Mary sings about the Lord scattering the arrogant and pulling down the powerful from their thrones. This all happens while the lowly are lifted up. The hungry are filled with good
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 19, 2022I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about and praying for our teachers and school staff. A couple of things – I come from a family of educators, and so I have always had a deep respect for those who feel called to this important work. I have also witnessed firsthand my mother sitting at the dining room table late at night as
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 18, 2022For a couple of weeks now, I have been playing around with a verse of scripture – Psalm 25:1. It reads: I offer my life to you, LORD. The author of the Psalm continues, acknowledging the vulnerability present whenever a person offers oneself to someone else. When I am meeting with a couple in advance of a marriage ceremony, I spend time talking about vulnerability.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 17, 2022Prayer for the WeekTheodore Parker wrote, “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 16, 2022In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be…” How many people are far from who they were created to be because of circumstances beyond their control.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 15, 2022Last Sunday, we had two baptisms in our new baptistery. It was pretty nifty I must confess. Mariah, who facilitated the baptisms, did a great job. It may not be something most folks spend much time pondering, but for clergy, a new baptistry brings all sorts of unknowns. We ask a lot of questions, including: How long is the baptistry and how tall is the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 14, 2022In Matthew 28:19, Jesus offered some insight in regard to baptism when he said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Over the years, in churches I was serving, we received phone calls from other churches were a former member of our church (often a person who