FIRST PRESBYTERIAN

And when they read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words and strengthened them.   Acts 15:32 The letter was short and sweet. “The apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some

…The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.  Matthew 27:51 God had banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden lest they eat fruit from the Tree of Life and live forever. Old Testament believers were left in the dark about the “eternal life” that we, as God’s Easter people, have come to understand it. That is precisely why Paul wrote to Timothy

…The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.  Matthew 27:51 One commentator called this the gospel writer’s “weirdest passage.” Some chose the  term “enigmatic.” The most acclaimed early church fathers such as Jerome, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, all held to the historicity of the resurrection of those New Testament era saints. Matthew Henry (16

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak anymore in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot.  Jeremiah 20:9 When our “season of lament” overlaps with Lent, it does not mean we discredit the promise of Easter joy by seeking counsel from the author of the Book of Lamentations. The “weeping prophet” fully owned his humanity, as we are allowed to admit to ours. The God incarnate in His Son Jes

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak anymore in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot.  Jeremiah 20:9 Poll the members of your congregation and ask who among them is on fire for the Lord. Do expect a mix of perplexed looks, stony silence, and nervous laughter. This makes you feel for the flustered stand-up comic whose every joke falls flat. Get over your mortification and have a chat

LENT  commemorates Christ’s fast in the desert where Satan first tempted Him to turn stones into bread. Is my giving up desserts for 40 days a proper tribute to what it cost Him to secure my salvation by that agonizing death on the cross?. Something more biblical came into view when I chanced upon a Catholic mission organization called FOCUS, defined as follows: “Make disciples for Christ. First, we invite people into a relationship with Jesus in our church. Then, we accompan

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  2 Timothy 3:1 As Paul pointed out, people are the problem, but in his closing remarks to the self-doubting young pastor, he mentioned only two. In marked contrast, his letter to the Romans concluded with him naming thirty-four as valued fellow workers. To his beloved son in the faith he wrote, “Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me.” A hymn written in 1787 comes to mind, since Paul had also told

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  2 Timothy 3:1 After listing twenty specifics, the veteran missionary instructs his young son in the faith, “Have nothing to do with such…” How? The cartoonist Harry Bliss has a young woman sit on a rock high up in a remote area and while hugging her dog tightly, she cries out, “Please, meteor, come and just end it.” The Apostle Paul wrote his second pastoral letter from a dungeon in Rome, and his last days were ne

And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah…as his wife.   Joshua 15:17 Admittedly, “Othniel and Achsah” do not roll off the tongue as readily as Abraham and Sarah, or Boaz and Ruth. The latter’s equally widowed sister-in-law, Orpah, went back to her Moabite people at Naomi’s urging. On Miss Winfrey’s birth certificate the name chosen by her parents was misspelled, so the name Oprah stuck for the talk show host. People doing memory d

And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah…as a wife.   Joshua 15:17 Debir was the name of the city that fell to Caleb’s nephew. Known also as Kiriath-sepher, “City of Books,” it was home to the Anakim, a race of giants. The spies sent by Moses ahead of the conquest, reported feeling like “grasshoppers” in comparison. He and Joshua famously opted for an immediate invasion, but became subject also to the 38-year wilderness wanderings

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus…I urge you, then, be imitators of me .       1 Corinthians 4:15-16 Having yanked out the pedestal from under his own feet, Paul continued warmly, “I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children…I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” The gospel, mind you, not through professional training, ecclesiastical

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus…I urge you, then, be imitators of me .       1 Corinthians 4:15-16 Depending on our denominational tradition, we do call our top man father, as well as the man of the cloth or man of the collar. In non-denominational circles he may be the fellow with a fondness for flip-flops and cool shirts. Many guys wear them, so it could be difficult to discern at first g

Moses, Moses! …put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.  Exodus 3:4-5 It is now do-or-die time, but God will not allow us to move on the impulse of a moment. We only have our Midian and Egypt on the brain. Our burning desire for a passage between the two that sounds plausible, impels us to rush at Him as our Helper. He, however, has shown up as the Holy One of Israel. His chief motivation is Covenant. In our very personal appo

Moses, Moses! …put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.  Exodus 3:4-5 Are we as curious about the burning bush as Moses was? His landmark encounter with God would take him from tending sheep in Midian to masterminding Israel’s exodus from hostile Egypt. If our curiosity sends us to the Bible dictionary, we find that the information listed under Vegetable Kingdom cannot deliver the spark of illumination that leaps from the plai

Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.  John 8:58 If we bring our inborn naivety as “world view” to Christ’s Nativity, we readily concede that the baby lying in a manger in Mozambique should be dark-skinned. Chinese Christians should not have to travel west for a white infant. We are fine with people in the north who lay their Inuit baby Jesus on a seal skin. Most newborns turn red as a beet when they scream. Some show up bald and wrinkled; some emerge with a f

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel…And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  Luke 2:25;36 “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21). An angel also told Joseph in a dream that Mary’s son was to be named Jesus, “for he will save his

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel…And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  Luke 2:25;36 What is the difference between “waiting for” and “waiting on”? Far from being a trick  question, it hints at a language lesson Luke might have wanted to insert to enhance his exhaustive telling of the Nativity story. So we brace for some New Testament

The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must  not reach out, take from the tree of life, and live forever.” …He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.  Genesis 3:22-24 The fragrant live tree in its prime, set up in the homes of God-loving families, marks Christmas Day as a cherished event.  Advent is known as a sacred season of

The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must  not reach out, take from the tree of life, and live forever.” …He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.  Genesis 3:22-24 This “tree of life” was the forbidden tree in paradise, prompting the serpent to ask Eve if she really meant to take God’s warning seriously. In doing so, Satan s

Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips… and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote; therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people…   Isaiah 29:13-14 Thanksgiving Day in many homes is a lavish affair with many guests. Out come the obligatory folding tables for the youngsters. Let them giggle and wiggle and gobble to their hearts’ content. Do they ever talk – or do we – about what else might go on in