ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 13, 2022In Romans 15:13, we read: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” A few days ago, I read these words and I needed them—specifically, hope, joy and peace. Life can become challenging, and the situations in which we find ourselves can appear grim, leaving
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 12, 2022I’m sort of a “give the benefit of the doubt” kind of person. In part, because I believe both my profession and my religion require it, but I have also been on the receiving end a few times. In those moments, it was a real gift of grace. In recent weeks, there have been some racist statements by public figures that are deeply troubling. Some
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 11, 2022Today, I begin a new study based on Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s book, Signs and Wonders. Once again, Dr. Levine (she tells us to call her AJ) has put together a really thoughtful study, this one on the concept of miracles. She is willing to wrestle with the multitude of questions that people have been asking or wanting to ask. In the Introduction, she writes: “If
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 10, 2022Prayer for the Week: When there is something in the past that clings to you and stubbornly limits the abundant life for which you were created, remember there is a forgiveness with a power beyond even the irrational explanation you might have created to convince yourself that you must forever own the guilt and shame. Let go and remember how you are worthy of the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 9, 2022Today in worship, we are going to focus our attention on the fifth and final Core Value at Cypress Creek Christian Church: Worship. There is no way I could fully explain the concept of worship in a single sermon, and this morning, I won’t even try. There are many wonderful and positive ways of thinking about worship, but I believe there are a few less
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 8, 2022Psalm 98 begins with the words, “Sing to the LORD a new song because he has done wonderful things!” The Israelites will sing a new song as they gather and ponder the “wonderful things” the Lord has done. It’s interesting how the “wonderful things” appear, at least as I read the entire Psalm, to be those things that happened in the past. In fact, I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 7, 2022Important Safety Tip – Do not try to write your daily Etching without glasses. A few days ago, I was up early and started writing my Etching for the next day. I left my glasses in the bedroom, and though I do not have the worst eyesight in the world, looking at a screen early in the morning left me with some fuzziness. Mostly, I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 6, 2022I was really tired last night. Do you ever have those days when you’re so exhausted that it’s sort of hard to look into the future? I remember thinking to myself, “I’m pretty sure I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, but I’m not all that interested in even looking at my calendar.” I eventually did, which was sort of important. But I’ve been thinking about
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 5, 2022In the last twelve days or so, I have offered a couple of Etchings on the events in Iran – specifically starting with the apprehension and death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was not wearing her headscarf correctly. The self-appointed morality overlords have a long history of using fear tactics and violence to impose their definition of correctness on others, specifically women. If
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 4, 2022This coming Sunday, I will be referencing a Psalm called an enthronement Psalm. Psalm 96 is one of many such Psalms, and as you can imagine, it depicts God as a king. Like a lot of titles for God, we must remember that they are metaphors or comparisons used to communicate certain attributes. Is God really a king as we humans have understood a king?