Matthew 5:1-12 Growing up in mainline denominations, Lutheran and Presbyterian to be exact, there were certain parts of Scripture we had to memorize. While there might be disagreement about the validity of other parts of Scripture, there was no disputing that these passages reflected the highest form of moral truth. The four principle passages were…
Ephesians 5 In 1964, as a thirteen year old, I saw the Pieta at the World’s Fair in New York City. The Pieta is a sculpture of Michelangelo portraying the crucified Jesus lying in his mother Mary’s arms. As I recall, it sat behind glass under a blue light with a moving walkway taking people…
Luke 2 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Peace. Where is it? The angels appeared to shepherds in the vicinity of Bethlehem promising peace. With the…
Luke 1 & 2 We are focusing this Advent on four words in the Christmas story. The first Sunday I preached on fear, last week Kelly preached on Joy and next Sunday I will be preaching on Peace. Today I was supposed to talk about Doubt, but as I looked at the text, I became…
Luke 2:8-20 In February of 1985 my wife and I took one of the best vacations we have ever had. My parents had invited us to come with them to the British Virgin Islands. We left Newark, New Jersey in a snow storm, handed our winter coats to my sister who had driven us to…